A new Meta AI tool can generate pictures using other people's Instagram profile pictures without telling them — prompting privacy campaigners to call it a "recipe for disaster."
Muse Image, available through the Meta AI app, web browser, WhatsApp and Instagram Stories for US users, is a text-to-image generator that creates pictures from simple written prompts. It can blend multiple photos into high-quality creations that can be downloaded and shared anywhere, according to Meta's blog post.
“Meta's Muse AI tool generates images using public Instagram profile pics without consent, prompting privacy campaigners to warn of exploitation.”
Donald Campbell, advocacy director at tech justice non-profit Foxglove, told the BBC it was an "obvious recipe for disaster."
"We've already seen a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year," he said. "It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea."
The feature is likely to face heightened scrutiny as regulators and campaigners raise concerns about AI-generated images, with Ofcom currently investigating X over Grok's role in creating and sharing non-consensual AI-altered images of real people.
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 wrote on X: "Pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to detonate."
Meta said a dedicated setting, separate from account privacy controls, allows users to opt out even if they have a public account. Users must go to Instagram's settings menu, 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. These settings only appear for public accounts; private accounts cannot be shared.
To test the tool, a BBC journalist asked Muse AI to make it look like they were driving a car. It did so, though the AI failed to notice the steering wheel goes on the right in a UK car.
While the tool is free for "everyday creation," Meta said heavier users may face limits. The company said it uses "advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts," and users can choose from presets and suggested prompts to "spark ideas," as well as sketch edits directly onto images.