Your Public Instagram Photos Can Be Used in Meta AI Images—Here’s How to Turn It Off

(SPOT.ph) Meta’s new AI image tool can now pull from public Instagram accounts when users generate images—and unless you turn the setting off, all your pictures become fair game.

The feature comes with Muse Image, Meta’s new image-generation model launched on July 7. According to Meta, the tool lets people create visuals from prompts, blend several photo references, and @-mention Instagram accounts so public photos from those profiles can be used to build an AI image. Meta presented the feature as a creative shortcut for things like custom invitations, graphics, and other shareable images.

Here's the thing: Public Instagram profiles are automatically included unless users opt out. What's worse is that users are not notified when their content is used in AI-generated images and that changing the setting will not delete AI images that may have already been created using your content.

Meta told The Guardian that private accounts and accounts belonging to users under 18 are automatically excluded. However, adult users with public accounts will need to manually toggle this setting off.

So, how do you stop your public grid from becoming someone else’s AI prompt material? Check one Instagram setting.

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To turn it off, open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the three-line menu on the upper-right corner, then go to Settings. Scroll down until you find “Sharing and reuse.”

Under the section that says “Allow people to create with and reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta,” switch off Posts and Reels. That should stop other people from using your public Instagram posts and reels as reference material for Meta AI images.

The setting may not appear for everyone yet, so check again if you do not see it right away. You can also make your Instagram account private, which Meta says automatically excludes your profile from the feature.

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