Meta halts AI use of Instagram post images after criticism

2026-07-11

Backlash over opt-out model

Meta said on the 10th that it had stopped offering a feature that allowed others to use images posted on Instagram for artificial intelligence (AI) composites. The feature had only launched on the 7th, but criticism mounted over a system that by default allowed images to be used without permission.

Concerns over handling of public images

The suspension applies to functions in the company's Meta AI app and elsewhere that let users specify an Instagram account and then generate AI images featuring that person. The feature was rolled out alongside the launch on the 7th of a new image AI tool and was available in part in Japan as well.

The feature used an 'opt-out' model for images from public accounts, allowing AI use unless users changed settings to refuse it. Hollywood and creators in the US pushed back, saying posts could be used as material for new AI images without users' knowledge and could infringe privacy and portrait rights.

In a statement on the 10th, Meta said it had discontinued the offering after hearing that the feature was not meeting expectations. The company had initially said users could switch to a refusal setting with a simple operation.

Pushback over AI use

Among tech companies, a view has spread that public content on their platforms can be altered by AI or used for other creations unless users opt out, leading to a series of backlash cases.

US X, formerly Twitter, has faced criticism over images posted to the platform being altered without permission for sexual purposes, while US OpenAI has also faced allegations of copyright infringement over characters and others being used in its video AI tools.

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