Meta disables image generation from public Instagram photos: privacy turned out to be more important
Meta has shut down one of the key features of its new image generation model, Muse Image — the ability to create content based on public Instagram accounts. The company officially confirmed this in an update to the announcement published on July 7.
Muse Image, introduced as the first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, was integrated into Meta AI and offered users a unique option: add a public Instagram profile to the prompt so that the neural network uses open photos to generate an image. However, just three days after launch, Meta hastened to disable this feature.
The reason — the feature "did not meet users' expectations" regarding privacy. The problem was compounded by the fact that the option was enabled by default, sparking a wave of criticism. Actress Hannah Einbinder publicly called for disabling this feature, and the SAG-AFTRA union issued a sharp statement, calling any mechanism other than explicit and conspicuous consent for the use of images "unacceptable." The organization emphasized that this was "a complete miscalculation in assessing public opinion regarding the obvious dangers and harm."
After the feature was disabled, SAG-AFTRA supported Meta's decision, indicating the seriousness of the situation. The market and community clearly made it known: the automatic use of public data for image generation is a red line that must not be crossed.
It is important to note that the Muse Image model itself as a product remains available in Meta AI for generating and editing images based on text prompts and photos. Additionally, Meta uses Muse Image in more than 30 new AI effects for Instagram Stories and in WhatsApp chats with Meta AI in a limited number of countries. The company also recently introduced the multimodal model Muse Spark 1.1 for agentic tasks and coding.
Expert opinion: This incident is a vivid example of how tech giants, in their pursuit of innovation, sometimes forget basic principles of privacy. For Meta, this is a painful but useful lesson: in an era of total data control, any step perceived as a privacy violation can lead to reputational damage and regulatory risks. The market clearly demands not only functionality but also transparency.