Meta’s Muse Image AI generator on Instagram has sparked privacy concerns after users claimed public accounts were automatically opted in without consent. The tool allows AI images using public Instagram profiles, prompting calls to review settings. Some users also reported the opt-out toggle turning back on after being disabled.

Meta has rolled out a new artificial intelligence image generator called Muse Image across Instagram, and users are now reporting consent issues with the feature. Users are asking each other to review their settings immediately. The tool lets people create AI-generated images of everyone who has a public account on Instagram, and Meta automatically opted in every public account without asking first.

Instagram users react over automatic opt-in

Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee flagged the rollout on social media, noting that Instagram had opted in every public account by default rather than asking users to switch the feature on themselves. The reaction from users was swift. One user, posting as Aravind, said the feature effectively allows anyone to clone another person's face on Instagram, and recommended users abandon Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, altogether.

Privacy advocates have echoed those concerns. Thorin Klosowski, a senior security and privacy activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The Guardian that this is the sort of setting that should absolutely be opt-in for Instagram users, since it represents a new use of photos that people have posted publicly for years, one that was never on their minds when they first signed up for the platform.