Meta has abruptly pulled a new artificial intelligence feature that let users generate fake images from Instagram posts, after days of backlash over privacy concerns — even as the tech giant introduces a separate safety tool that will alert parents if teenagers discuss suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot.
The feature, part of the rollout of Meta's Muse Image tool on Tuesday, allowed anyone using the Meta AI chatbot to tag public-facing Instagram accounts and quickly create AI-altered content using images from those accounts. Instagram users were opted in by default, meaning their likeness could be used without permission. The backlash was swift.
“Meta pulls Instagram AI image tool after privacy fury and adds suicide safety alerts for parents.”
Meta admitted it had “missed the mark” and said the feature was “no longer available”. “Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way,” the company said. “We've heard the feedback.”
Hollywood union Sag-Aftra described the U-turn as a “win”. It had urged members and “all Instagram users” to act, saying there had been an “utter miscalculation of public sentiment regarding the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use”.
The London-based human rights charity 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”.
Muse Image was Meta's first foray into AI-generated images. The company said it was initially limited to Instagram, but more AI features were planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger, and it has an AI video tool in development. Meta declined to make further comment.
This week the company also began rolling out a new safety feature on Instagram that will alert parents if their teenage children ask the platform's AI chatbot about suicide or self-harm. The move comes as Meta faces increasing pressure to address the risks its AI products pose to young users.
The twin announcements — a retreat on one AI tool and a safety-first step on another — underscore Meta's struggle to capitalise on artificial intelligence without alienating its user base or attracting regulatory scrutiny.
