Meta disables Instagram AI feature for tagging public accounts

Meta has disabled a newly announced Instagram feature that allowed users to generate AI images by tagging public accounts, following widespread criticism.

Meta announced the feature on Tuesday. The tool let people create images in Meta AI by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts they wanted to reference. As originally designed, it enabled use of content from any public account without the owner's explicit permission.

The company provided an opt-out option through account settings. Despite this, the feature drew immediate and intense backlash.

The backlash centered on consent and potential misuse. Critics argued it eroded rights to personal likeness and could enable sextortion and scams. Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, stated on Friday that pursuing high-risk design and placing the opt-out burden on individuals was unacceptable.

The Screen Actors Guild advised its members to opt out and provided instructions for doing so.

Meta updated its blog post on the Muse Image AI model. The statement reads: “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.” The update acknowledges the feature received significant backlash after its Tuesday announcement.

The reversal occurred within days of launch. No timeline for potential return or redesign was provided.