Meta has announced that its new artificial intelligence (AI) model Muse Image lets people use public Instagram posts and reels to generate AI content, and it’s enabled by default.
“You can also @-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images,” the social media giant said in a post.
“Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that’s ready to post”
Muse Image is Meta’s inaugural image-focused AI model from its Superintelligence Labs, which the company said uses advanced reasoning to better understand complex prompts and blend multiple photos into high-quality creations for sharing across its platforms and elsewhere.
It’s also being embedded into WhatsApp and Instagram to facilitate AI-powered effects for Instagram Stories and image generation in direct chats with Meta AI on WhatsApp. These features are rolling out in limited countries to start with.
Users have the option to tag another public Instagram account on the Meta AI app to create new reels, posts, or stories that can reuse “part or all of your published photos, videos or reels,” automatically turning public content into fodder for AI-generated images.
“In addition, people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta,” the company notes in a help document. “Depending on the settings of the other user, this means your reused content may be discoverable in search engine results.”
In scenarios where a user has switched from a public to a private account, all reels, posts, and stories using their content will be deleted from Instagram if they have set their account to private for longer than 24 hours. That said, already existing content created by others using the AI features will not be deleted.
For Instagram users under 18 with public accounts, only those who follow can reuse the media if their account settings allow for reuse.
It’s also notable that users will not be notified when their images are remixed using AI. Notifications will continue to be sent if a public account reuses a user’s content for remixes, sequences, stickers, and templates.
Meta, however, insisted that users have complete control over how their content can be tagged for AI creation, along with an option to turn it off. To do so:
- Open Instagram
- Go to your profile
- Tap the ☰ menu
- Open Settings and activity
- Tap Sharing and reuse
- Scroll to Allow people to create with and reuse your content
- Turn off: Posts and Reels
Instagram users with public profiles are recommended to turn off the setting, as the created prior to disabling it isn’t deleted. The feature is expected to soon be available in Facebook, Messenger, and for advertisers through Meta Advantage+ creative.
Part of a Broader Industry Trend
The development comes as tech companies are increasingly embedding AI into their products, making them opt-out rather than opt-in by default, as a way to improve AI services.
In recent weeks, Google has also rolled out a new Search Services History option in its privacy settings that allows the company to store media, including images, files, and audio, and video recordings, to improve its AI models for signed-in users.
“Your media may be used to improve your experience on Google services, like letting you revisit your past visual searches,” it said in a support document. “Saved media may be used to develop and improve Google’s AI models and technologies, as well as the Google services that use them. When media is saved, you can view it in your Search Services History.”
“Google also uses your history to provide, develop, and improve its services (such as training generative AI models) and to protect Google, its users, and the public with the help of human reviewers,” Google continued.
Separately, Google has also added a new “Personalized Recommendations” setting that, when enabled, uses an account’s profile information, Search Services History, and other saved activity across Google sites and apps to serve tailored results in Search and AI responses, curated feeds in Google Search and News Apps, and relevant to their location.
