Meta AI Will No Longer Use Public Instagram Photos to Generate Images: Feature Withdrawn

Meta has decided to discontinue the availability of the Meta AI feature that allowed for artificially generated images based on content published on public Instagram profiles. This decision comes just days after the tool's presentation, which immediately sparked numerous criticisms regarding potential privacy implications and the use of individuals' images.

The functionality allowed users to reference a public account through a simple mention with the symbol "@", using publicly available photographs and content as a basis for creating new images via artificial intelligence. All of this could occur without requiring prior authorization from the profile owner and without the owner receiving any notification of the usage of their content.

For adult users with a public account, the option was automatically active. Those who wished to prevent the use of their posts and Reels had to manually intervene in the settings dedicated to sharing and reusing content or choose to make their profile private. However, even after the feature was disabled, the images already generated continued to remain available. This was also true in cases where the original post was deleted or the profile was subsequently set to private.

Instagram's Stance on the Removal of This Feature

In communicating the change, Meta explained that it had taken into account feedback from users, acknowledging that the feature did not meet the intended goals. For this reason, the possibility of using public account content as a reference for generating images is no longer available.

The decision also followed positions taken by major organizations in the entertainment industry. The Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents numerous internationally renowned actors, had requested that any use of name, image, voice, and creative works be contingent upon explicit and documented consent.

The American union SAG-AFTRA had also expressed serious concerns, urging its members to disable the feature and criticizing a system based on opt-out, meaning that users had to manually intervene to prevent the use of their content. With the withdrawal of the functionality, Meta is thus responding to the many criticisms that emerged after the launch.