How to stop Meta from using your Instagram pictures in AI
When Meta unveiled an AI image generator called Muse Image on Tuesday, it came with a feature that allows users to create AI images based on people’s Instagram photos.
Any adult with a public Instagram account was automatically logged in. Using Meta AI, the company’s standalone chatbot, other users could pull “part or all of your published photos” and create new AI images, the company wrote in a blog post.
“Additionally, people may be able to create content with your content on Instagram using AI features on Meta,” the company added.
Here’s how it works: In the Meta AI app, a user can tag a public Instagram account and direct the chatbot to create new AI photos based on photos from that person’s account.
The privacy backlash was immediate. Along with automatically logging users into this feature, Meta didn’t notify people when their accounts were used to generate AI images.
Hundreds of users took to social media to condemn the new feature and ask how they can opt out, while criticizing the company for its lack of consent. One social media user said the feature was a “privacy landmine waiting to explode,” while others shared templates on Instagram to disable it.
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that private accounts and users under the age of 18 have been excluded from the new feature, which can be disabled “with just a few clicks.”
“We will take action against any content that violates our community standards,” the company added.
What can I do about it?
The easiest way to log out and protect your account is to make your account private.
However, if you want your account to be public, go to your Instagram settings and scroll down to the “share and reuse” tab. In the sections titled “Let people reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features”, switch the setting to “off”.
You can also change AI settings for individual images and videos. Users cannot prevent their audio, text and comments from being “re-used” by Meta’s artificial intelligence, the company said.
What are the implications for young users?
Minor users cannot use their accounts to generate AI images, even if they have a public account, the company said. Minor users are also prohibited from using this feature on other people’s accounts.
Have other companies done this?
OpenAI, the AI start-up behind ChatGPT, faced similar privacy concerns when it released Sora, its AI video generator. There was one big difference: In order to use a person’s likeness for a video, a user had to log in. OpenAI shut down Sora in March, partly because it was too expensive to run.
(The New York Times sued OpenAI, claiming it infringed copyright on news content related to AI systems. The company denied the claims.)
Meta’s new AI image generator is part of its broader effort to integrate AI into social media apps, including Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads. Along with AI images, the company introduced “AI characters” that people can chat with and that take on different personalities. In the coming months, the release of the AI Muse Video video generator is being prepared.