Just three days after its high-profile launch, Meta was forced to disable a key feature of its new image generation model, Muse Image. The feature in question allowed users to add a public Instagram profile to their text prompt, enabling the AI to use public photos to generate content. The company acknowledged that the feature "did not meet user expectations regarding privacy" and promptly removed it from the official announcement.
Muse Image, unveiled on July 7 as the first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, was initially positioned as a powerful tool integrated into Meta AI. However, the automatic activation of the feature that collects and uses public photos sparked a wave of criticism. Actress Hannah Einbinder publicly called for the option to be disabled, and the SAG-AFTRA union issued a strong statement, calling any mechanism other than explicit and conspicuous consent "unacceptable and a complete miscalculation of public sentiment."
Reaction and Consequences
Meta emphasized that Muse Image as a product continues to operate within Meta AI — users can still generate and edit images based on text prompts and uploaded photos. Moreover, the model has already been integrated into over 30 new AI effects for Instagram Stories and WhatsApp chats with Meta AI in several countries. However, the privacy incident has dealt a serious blow to the company's reputation, especially in light of its own recent statements about safety.
Expert Opinion: This case is a classic example of a tech giant overestimating the audience's willingness to sacrifice privacy for functionality. Automatically enabling data collection without a transparent opt-in is not just a mistake, but a fundamental design flaw. Meta will have to make significant efforts to restore trust, especially given the active promotion of agentic models like Muse Spark 1.1, which require even deeper access to data.