Meta is facing a backlash over its new AI tool Muse Image, which can generate pictures using other people's Instagram profile photos without telling them — prompting privacy campaigners to call it a “recipe for disaster”. The tool, available through the Meta AI app, web browser, WhatsApp and Instagram Stories for US users, lets anyone create AI-altered images from a few lines of text by pulling in real profile pictures from public accounts.
Donald Campbell, advocacy director at tech justice non-profit Foxglove, told the BBC: “We’ve already seen a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year. It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea.” Privacy International also criticised the feature, telling the BBC it was “the latest sign AI companies see people’s images and data as raw material to be exploited”. One user on X wrote: “Pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to detonate.”
“Meta faces backlash as Muse Image generates pictures using Instagram profile pics without consent, called a 'recipe for disaster'.”
Meta said a dedicated setting, separate from account privacy controls, allows users to opt out even with a public account. To do so, Instagram users must go to Settings, select “Sharing and Reuse” and switch off “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta” for posts and reels. Private accounts are already unable to be shared. In a blog post, Meta described the tool as using “advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere”. The company said users can also choose from presets and suggested prompts to “spark ideas”, as well as sketch edits directly onto images. The tool is free for “everyday creation”.
The feature is likely to face heightened scrutiny as regulators and campaigners raise concerns about AI-generated images. Ofcom is currently investigating X over Grok’s role in creating and sharing non-consensual AI-altered images of real people. Meta enters a crowded market with Muse Image, but its use of Instagram profile pictures marks a powerful — and controversial — new step.