Meta faces privacy backlash over new Muse Image AI tool allowing unauthorized use of public photos
Meta faces criticism over its new Muse Image AI tool, which allows users to incorporate public Instagram photos into generated content without notifying the original owners.
1. Launch of Muse Image
On July 7, 2026, Meta introduced Muse Image, an AI-powered image generation model developed by its Meta Superintelligence Labs unit. The tool, internally known as Mango, is available for free through the Meta AI app, WhatsApp, and Instagram Stories. Muse Image allows users to generate images using text prompts or pre-set suggestions, edit existing photos, and create custom visuals for applications like advertising or interior design.
2. Privacy Concerns and User Backlash
The release has drawn criticism regarding a feature that allows users to manipulate photos of other individuals if their Instagram profiles are public. By tagging a user, others can incorporate that person's images into new AI-generated content. Meta’s policy states that users will not be notified when their content is used in this manner. While Meta maintains that users have control over these settings, the feature is opt-out by default, leading to concerns from users and privacy advocates who view the practice as invasive.
3. Context of Meta’s AI Strategy
The controversy surrounding Muse Image follows a history of privacy-related challenges for Meta, including the 2019 Cambridge Analytica scandal and the 2021 shutdown of its facial-recognition system. Despite these concerns, Meta continues to invest heavily in AI infrastructure and has recently launched other tools, such as the Creator assistant and the game-coding app Pocket. The company has indicated that a video-generation model, Muse Video, is currently in development.