Meta automatically enabled all public accounts in its Muse Image AI.
On Tuesday, Meta announced its new AI Muse image generator for Instagram, Meta AI and WhatsApp, promising “advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations.” On Instagram, the feature lets you add 30 new effects for Stories, including one that makes your photo look like it was taken with a disposable camera, for example. It also includes an interface in Instagram’s image editor to let you preview effects before applying them.
This seems useful, but as part of the update, all public Instagram profiles are automatically enabled for use in Muse Image AI Remixes. Anyone can tag your account profile in a prompt, then use Meta AI to generate an image based on your likeness. “Tagging a username allows Meta AI to use public photos to create a post-ready visual,” as Meta cheerfully explains on its blog. Suffice it to say, this is a feature ripe for abuse.
Steve Dent
Fortunately, there are settings available to prevent people from remixing your images while still keeping your account public. To access it, open the Instagram app, tap your profile then press the hamburger (three lines) at the top right of your screen. Then scroll down to Sharing and reuse setting. You will see a category called Let people create with and reuse your content. Tap to toggle this setting disabled for posts and reels.
The new feature has angered users on Reddit and elsewhere, particularly in the part where all public accounts are automatically enabled. Another big problem is that if someone reuses your content, you won’t even be notified, according to Instagram’s help center. And if someone has already used Meta AI to remix your images, they won’t be deleted once the setting is turned off. I noticed that this option was enabled by default for me in France, and given the privacy laws here and in the EU, I think we’re not done with this.
