Meta pulls Instagram AI image feature after outcry over deepfakes of public accounts
New York Post — Business—Meta launched a feature allowing users to generate AI images from public Instagram profile photos by tagging accounts, then reversed course and disabled it after widespread backlash. Critics argued the tool enabled the creation of AI deepfakes of real people without their consent, including public figures and users with public profiles. Before the feature was pulled, the Washington Post documented how users could limit exposure by adjusting Instagram privacy settings. The episode reignited debate over consent and safety guardrails for AI image generation tools built on user-generated content.
- New York Post — Business — New Meta feature lets anyone use your Instagram photos in AI images – here’s how to opt out
- BBC — Business — Outcry as Meta lets users make AI images from public Instagram profile pics
- The Verge — The Verge described it as enabling AI deepfakes of public accounts specifically
- CBC News — Feature let users tag any public Instagram account to generate AI images of that person
- 9to5Mac — Meta removed the AI image feature after backlash — it had pulled images from public Instagram posts
- Washington Post — Before Meta pulled the feature, users could limit exposure by adjusting Instagram privacy settings