Meta has disabled its Instagram AI image generation feature that allowed users to create deepfakes of public accounts, following significant backlash over privacy and consent issues.
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Following significant backlash, Meta is turning off the feature it announced this week that let users generate AI images based on content from public Instagram accounts just by tagging them. The feature, as originally set up, meant that content from any public Instagram account could be used in AI creations without the account owner's permission.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">"Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference," Meta says in an update to <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/introducing-muse-image-meta-ai/">a blog post</a> about its new Muse Image AI model. "Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give pe …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/964416/meta-instagram-ai-muse-image-deepfakes">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Meta turns off the Instagram feature that let users make AI deepfakes of public accounts
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/964416/meta-instagram-ai-muse-image-deepfakes](https://www.theverge.com/tech/964416/meta-instagram-ai-muse-image-deepfakes)
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Jay Peters
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more\. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme\.
Following significant backlash, Meta is turning off the feature it announced this week that let users generate AI images based on content from public Instagram accounts just by tagging them\. The feature, as originally set up, meant that content from any public Instagram account could be used in AI creations without the account owner’s permission\.
“Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @\-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference,” Meta says in an update to[a blog post](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/introducing-muse-image-meta-ai/)about its new Muse Image AI model\. “Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way\. We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available\.”
Meta did let you opt out by[digging through settings](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/962998/you-can-and-should-opt-out-of-letting-people-use-your-instagram-posts-with-metas-ai)before turning off the feature entirely, but the feature still drew major criticism\.
“Not only does this obviously erode our rights to our own likeness… but it is an obvious tool for \#sextortion and other scammers\!” Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation,[said earlier on Friday](https://x.com/HaleyMcNamara/status/2075571076839649479)\. “Pursuing high\-risk design & then putting the onus on individuals to jump through hoops to opt out is unacceptable\.”
The Screen Actors Guild recommended that its members opt out of the feature and[spelled out instructions on how to do so](https://x.com/sagaftra/status/2075388961560658379)\.
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- Jay Peters
Meta has removed a controversial AI feature on Instagram that allowed users to generate images by referencing public Instagram accounts without notification, following widespread backlash and scrutiny.
Meta's new AI image generator Muse Image can use public Instagram photos, raising consent and privacy concerns. Users can opt out by toggling a setting in their Instagram profile.
Meta launched its Muse Image AI model with deep Instagram integration, automatically opting public profiles into allowing others to use their photos for AI-generated images. Users must dig into settings to opt out, and no notifications are sent when their images are used.
Meta's AI support chatbot was exploited by hackers to hijack Instagram accounts, including high-profile ones, by tricking the bot into changing email addresses. Meta has since patched the issue.
Hackers exploited a bug in Meta's AI support chatbot to hijack over 20,000 Instagram accounts without two-factor authentication, prompting Meta to disable the tool and implement security measures.