Meta pulls Instagram AI image tool days after privacy backlash
What's new: The feature let users generate images from public Instagram accounts by default, prompting objections over consent and digital replicas.
Meta has removed a new AI image feature from Instagram just days after launching it, after criticism that it let people create altered images from public accounts without clear permission. The tool, called Muse Image, was built into the Meta AI chatbot and allowed users to tag public-facing Instagram accounts and use their photos to generate or edit images. Critics said the feature was turned on by default, raising privacy and consent concerns. SAG-AFTRA urged users to opt out and later welcomed the reversal, calling nonconsensual digital replicas a known danger. Meta said the feature had "missed the mark" and was no longer available.