Nearly anyone can use your Instagram account to create AI-generated images
Facebook parent company Meta has unveiled its latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, and it's already raising a few eyebrows. Dubbed Muse Image, it lets you generate AI images based on photos posted on any public Instagram account. And if your Instagram account is set to public, then anyone can generate AI images with your likeness.
Fancy making a birthday card with your mate's face on it? Just tag their username, and the system pulls from their public posts to build the image. The feature is rolling out across Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Meta AI app in the US first, with other countries following soon.
Every adult with a public Instagram profile has been automatically opted into this feature without being asked. That's correct, if your account isn't set to private, anyone can use your photos to generate AI images of you. Meta's view appears to be that if you're posting publicly, they can use it on their AI platform.
It's worth noting that Google offers something similar, but their version only works with your own photos and requires an approval process. This has caused quite a stir across Reddit. One user wrote: "God this is disgusting and the reason I deleted my Instagram."
Another wrote: "Can Meta just be banished from the internet already?"
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NBC News also reports the tool can create realistic deepfakes of regular people and celebrities alike, and Meta's own AI detection tools don't always catch them. Despite the concerns, it appears Muse Image can be handy if used with the right intentions.
For instance, the tool lets you create personalised content like event invitations, mock-up room redesigns using products from Facebook Marketplace, or even restore old family photos with a single tap.
You can describe what you want with a short description – ask it to pop you in front of a famous landmark or remove that photobomber from your holiday snap.
There are also more than 30 new AI-powered effects coming to Instagram Stories, letting you reimagine yourself as a claymation character or 16-bit video game hero.
Meta says Muse Video is in development too, so moving images are on the horizon.
But if you'd rather keep your photos out of other people's AI creations, there is a way to switch this off.
Head to your Instagram settings, find Sharing and Reuse > Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta. Toggle that off, and you're sorted. Alternatively, setting your entire account to private will do the trick.
There's some protection built in for younger users too – accounts belonging to under-18s restrict AI access to only people they follow. The feature is free for casual use, though heavy users might need to pay for a Meta AI subscription down the line.
