Meta has abruptly pulled a new AI feature that let Instagram users create fake images from other people’s content, admitting it had “missed the mark” after a storm of privacy complaints.
The feature, part of the rollout of Muse Image on Tuesday, allowed Meta AI chatbot users to tag public Instagram accounts and instantly generate altered or entirely AI-created images based on those accounts’ posts. Instagram users were opted in by default, meaning anyone with a public profile could have their likeness used without their knowledge or permission.
“Meta scrapped its new AI image feature on Instagram after privacy backlash and admitting it "missed the mark".”
Within days, the backlash was fierce. The Hollywood union Sag-Aftra declared Meta’s U-turn a “win”, having previously urged members and “all Instagram users” to protect their likeness, describing the launch as 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”.
In a statement confirming the feature was “no longer available”, Meta said: “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. We’ve heard the feedback.”
Muse Image is the tech firm’s first AI image generation tool, but more features are planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger, and an AI video tool is in development. Meta declined to make any further comment.
The episode signals a deepening tension between Silicon Valley’s rush to embed generative AI into social platforms and public unease over how personal data is being repurposed – a gap that, for now, even Meta admits it failed to bridge.