Meta is facing global backlash over its new artificial intelligence (AI) feature Muse Image, which allows users to generate custom images using public Instagram profile pictures without explicit notifications.
The text-to-image feature is currently available through the Meta AI application, web browsers, WhatsApp and Instagram Stories for users based in the United States (US).
While the tech giant plans to expand it to Facebook, Messenger and advertising features, the tool has drawn immediate criticism from digital rights groups and privacy campaigners.
Donald Campbell, advocacy director at the tech justice non-profit Foxglove, termed the tool an “obvious recipe for disaster” while speaking to an international media outlet.
“We’ve already seen a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year,” Campbell stated, adding it was hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating “yet more of this creepy image manipulation” is a good idea.
Similarly, Privacy International criticised the development, telling an international media outlet that the feature is “the latest sign AI companies see people’s images and data as raw material to be exploited”.
The tool enters a highly competitive text-to-image market. According to Meta, Image employs “advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere”.
The company also revealed that a video-generation version is currently in development.
While the tool remains free for standard use, heavier usage will require a subscription plan.
The feature is launching amidst increased regulatory scrutiny surrounding AI-generated imagery.
Meta has clarified that private Instagram accounts are automatically excluded from the tool. If a user attempts to target a private account using an “@ mention”, Muse Image informs them that the account’s likeness cannot be used.
For public accounts, Meta has introduced a dedicated setting separate from standard account privacy controls to allow users to opt out.
To disable the feature, public account holders must navigate to Instagram’s settings menu, select “Sharing and Reuse” and scroll to the section titled “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta”.
Users must manually switch off the individual toggles for both “Posts” and “Reels” to prevent the AI from accessing their public media.
