How to stop Meta’s AI image generator from using your Instagram photos

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Shows a 14-year-old lad  arsenic  helium  looks astatine  societal  media connected  his mobile phone.Image Credits:David GRAY/AFP / Getty Images

10:56 AM PDT · July 9, 2026

On Tuesday, Meta launched “Muse Image,” a caller AI representation procreation diagnostic that allows users to make archetypal images, edit existing photos, and adjacent make customized ads straight wrong its apps. 

But 1 capableness has rapidly go the halfway of controversy. 

Muse Image allows users to make AI images utilizing photos from nationalist Instagram accounts. As agelong arsenic a person’s illustration is public, different idiosyncratic tin tag that relationship and usage their images arsenic portion of an AI-generated creation. (Only backstage accounts and accounts belonging to users nether 18 are automatically excluded from the feature.)

One immense interest is consent. Users whitethorn person nary thought that their nationalist photos tin beryllium incorporated into AI-generated images by strangers, and they aren’t adjacent notified erstwhile idiosyncratic reuses their nationalist content. Plus, making it casual to manipulate people’s images opens the doorway to misuse, harassment, impersonation, and non-consensual representation editing.

If you’re looking to opt retired of this, here’s however you tin bash it:

  • Head to your illustration and click the 3 horizontal lines successful the top-right corner.
  • Select “Sharing and reuse.”
  • Then look for the enactment that says, “Allow radical to make with and reuse your content.”
  • Toggle it disconnected for some posts and reels.

Muse Image arrives astatine a clip erstwhile AI tools are being progressively integrated into societal media platforms. As tech companies contention to rotation retired caller generative AI features, galore experts reason that stronger privateness protections and greater transparency are needed, truthful users afloat recognize however their photos and idiosyncratic information are being used.

Public skepticism astir AI is already high. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 35% of respondents said they’re much acrophobic than excited astir the increasing usage of artificial intelligence.

Additionally, Meta’s way grounds connected idiosyncratic privateness has besides fueled skepticism surrounding its latest AI feature.

In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5 cardinal fine against Facebook, concluding that the level had violated a 2012 consent bid by misleading users astir however overmuch power they had implicit their idiosyncratic information. This followed a high-profile ungraded wherever governmental consulting steadfast Cambridge Analytica gained entree to information from up to 87 cardinal Facebook users done a property quiz app. Facebook’s level policies astatine the clip allowed developers to cod accusation astir those users’ friends without their cognition oregon explicit consent. 

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Lauren covers media, streaming, apps and platforms astatine TechCrunch.

You tin interaction oregon verify outreach from Lauren by emailing laurenf.techcrunch@gmail.com oregon via encrypted connection astatine laurenforris22.25 connected Signal.

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