Meta has faced criticism from privacy advocates following the release of its new artificial intelligence tool, Muse Image. Launched on Tuesday, the tool allows users to generate custom images using the faces of people with public Instagram profiles. By default, any public profile can be referenced, raising significant privacy concerns.
With Muse Image, users can tag public Instagram accounts in prompts to create customized photos. The tool can combine various elements, such as specific people, clothing, and styles, from multiple source images. However, Instagram users are not notified when their photos are used by the generator.
Privacy organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), argue that this feature should be opt-in rather than opt-out. They point out that users did not expect their photos to be used to feed AI tools when they signed up for the platform years ago. Security experts from Proton and Malwarebytes also criticize Meta for setting data sharing to "on" by default and burying the opt-out setting deep within the app's menus.
To prevent their photos from being used, users must either switch their accounts to private or navigate to the "sharing and reuse" section in settings to disable the option. Meta has clarified that private accounts and those belonging to users under 18 are automatically excluded, and that Muse Image blocks the creation of policy-violating content. Still, concerns remain, especially regarding whether children depicted in public adult accounts could have their faces used in prompts.
Currently, Muse Image is available via the Meta AI app, Instagram Stories in the US, and WhatsApp in select countries, with plans to expand to Facebook and video content in the future.