Meta has abruptly pulled a new feature that allowed users to create AI-generated images from public Instagram content, just days after its release triggered a privacy backlash.
The feature was part of the rollout of Muse Image, a new AI image generation tool that Instagram’s parent company launched on Tuesday. It let people using the Meta AI chatbot tag public-facing Instagram accounts and quickly generate or alter images based on that content.
“Meta has abruptly withdrawn its new AI image feature after backlash over privacy concerns.”
Privacy concerns erupted immediately. Instagram users were opted in by default, meaning anyone with a public account could have their likeness used without their knowledge or permission.
Meta admitted it had “missed the mark”, and the feature is “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 added. “We’ve heard the feedback.”
The Hollywood union Sag-Aftra described the U-turn as a “win”. It had urged its members and “all Instagram users” to protect their likeness, calling the feature an “utter miscalculation of public sentiment regarding the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use”.
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”.
When Meta announced Muse Image, the firm said it was limited to Instagram but more AI features and integrations were planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger. It also has an AI video tool in development.
Meta declined to make any further comment.