Meta pulls its controversial Instagram AI feature that let users generate images from other people's public accounts

Meta has backtracked on an artificial intelligence feature in Instagram that had sparked strong pushback among users and talent agencies. The tool, launched this very week as part of a package of new AI features, is no longer available, as the company itself has confirmed.

The feature was part of Muse Image, a new AI image generator developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company's artificial intelligence unit. Among the capabilities promoted by Meta was the possibility for any user to generate images by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts, thereby using the content of those accounts as a reference for AI image generation.

The central problem, and probably the main reason for the withdrawal, is that the tool was not designed to notify a user if their photos were being used in this way by third parties. In other words, anyone with a public account could see their image reused by AI without their prior knowledge or consent, which triggered an immediate and negative reaction. In fact, TechCrunch went so far as to publish its own guide explaining how to disable the feature, a sign of the level of concern it generated among users.

Meta communicated the decision to remove the feature through a post on its blog on Friday. The news was first reported by Dylan Byers, founding partner of Puck News. In the statement, the company explained: "Our intention was to offer a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way. We've heard feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available."

According to Byers, the decision to withdraw the feature came "amid scrutiny from users and talent agencies, including CAA" (Creative Artists Agency), which suggests that the pressure came not only from individual users concerned about their privacy, but also from representatives of public figures and celebrities, a group especially exposed to this type of misuse of their image.

The article frames this episode within a broader pattern: since generative AI was integrated into social media, it has been misused on numerous occasions, including the generation of fake intimate images of female celebrities without their consent. Platforms have tried to set limits on this type of abuse, but, as noted, the safeguards introduced have often fallen short. In this specific case, the article itself points out that it was fairly predictable that a feature like this could be subject to similar abuse.

TechCrunch says it has contacted Meta for more details about the incident and that it will update the information if the company responds. For now, no metrics on misuse, number of affected accounts or specific timelines on whether the feature could return in a modified version with consent controls have been disclosed.