Meta Withdraws Instagram AI Image Feature Following Privacy Concerns

Meta Withdraws Instagram AI Image Feature After Privacy Concerns

Meta has withdrawn a newly launched artificial intelligence feature for Instagram after users and privacy advocates raised concerns over how public photos could be used.

Earlier this week, Meta introduced a feature that allowed users to generate AI images by @mentioning public Instagram accounts as visual references within its Meta AI chatbot.

However, the feature quickly faced criticism, with some users arguing that it was enabled by default and did not provide a sufficiently clear opt-in process.

In a statement, Meta said the feature was designed to give users a new creative tool while allowing them control over whether their public content could be referenced.

"Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference. 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 that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available," a Meta spokesperson said.

The feature was also criticised by Emmy-winning actor Hannah Einbinder and SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and media professionals, which argued that AI features involving people's images should require clear and explicit consent.

Meta's decision to remove the feature highlights the growing debate around privacy, consent and how publicly shared online content is used by artificial intelligence.