Meta’s New Image Tool Lets Users Rework Public Photos, Prompting Privacy Outcry

Meta’s Muse Image Rolls Out Free Across Apps, But Its Default Tagging Option Leaves Many Worried

Meta introduced Muse Image on Tuesday, a new image-generation tool from its in-house AI team that’s available at no cost through the company’s AI app and built into Instagram Stories and WhatsApp. While the company is promoting features that let people quickly whip up stylized or edited pictures, the launch has drawn immediate criticism because Muse can generate images based on another person’s Instagram posts if that person’s profile is public and they’ve been tagged.

The generator offers the sorts of playful and practical functions found in other similar systems: ready-made prompt templates for people who don’t want to write their own directions, a way to produce imagery for promotions, and tools to visualize home furnishings — with a demo showing how a secondhand sofa might look in different rooms tied to Facebook Marketplace listings. Muse also supports prompt-driven edits, such as removing unwanted figures from a shot, creating staged scenes like a portrait in front of a landmark, or crafting imagery that resembles a working QR code. Meta says the model is free for casual use but that heavy users will need to subscribe after exceeding a usage threshold; the company confirmed development is underway on a video-focused sibling product.

Where critics have focused attention is the ability to repurpose photographs of other users. If an account is public, Muse allows someone to tag that user and generate new art based on their photo. Meta’s guidance notes that people could see their Instagram content used to create AI-generated material, and that creators who do this may not receive notifications. The company points to account controls that let users block this kind of reuse, but the setting is not enabled automatically; people must act to turn it off.

Reactions on social media were swift. Many users described the capability as intrusive, arguing it puts the burden on individuals to police how their images are reused. A privacy researcher contacted for this article said the design shifts responsibility onto people who may not understand the consequence: “Making someone discover and opt out, rather than asking for permission, raises the risk of misuse and harassment,” the researcher said. They added that even technically savvy users might miss the control buried in settings.

The rollout comes as Meta continues to expand a portfolio of AI tools — including recent launches like an assistant aimed at creators and an experimental app for game development — amid criticism that its overall AI strategy lacks clarity even as the company doubles down on infrastructure spending. Privacy concerns are heightened by Meta’s record: regulators imposed a then-record $5 billion penalty after investigations found a political consulting firm harvested data from tens of millions of users, and the company discontinued its automatic face-recognition feature in 2021 amid legal and regulatory pressure.

For now, the debate centers on how much control people should have over images they post and how quickly platforms can deploy new features that reuse that material. Regulators and consumer advocates are likely to watch closely, and some users say they’ll be checking account settings immediately. Meta did not provide additional comment beyond its published help pages when asked for clarification.