{"slug": "meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps", "title": "Meta U-turns on feature that lets users make AI images using other people’s snaps", "summary": "Meta removed a feature that let users generate AI images using other people's public photos without notification, following backlash over privacy and consent. The feature, launched July 7, was criticized for requiring users to opt out and for enabling nonconsensual manipulation of likenesses. Meta admitted it 'missed the mark' and pulled the feature on July 10.", "body_md": "Meta has abruptly ditched a feature that allowed users to generate AI images using other people’s photos without notifying them.\n\nThe feature was rolled out on July 7 and made available in the UK through the Meta AI app and web browser, and on WhatsApp and via the Instagram app for users in the US.\n\nBut it was heavily criticised after it was revealed that users had to opt out if they did not want their public photos to be available for use in AI-generated mixes.\n\nUsers were also not notified when someone generated an AI image using their photos, meaning a person’s posts could be manipulated without their knowledge.\n\nThree days later, on July 10, Meta admitted the feature had ‘missed the mark’ and removed it from its apps.\n\nIn a statement, it said: ‘Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference.\n\n‘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.\n\n‘We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.’\n\n## How did the feature work?\n\nThe feature was the first image generation model from social media giant Meta, which advertised it as a fun way to create fake photos featuring real people.\n\nAll public accounts could be used in generative AI remixes, allowing users to tag an account’s profile in a prompt before Meta AI would generate an image.\n\nPublic bodies such as the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) pointed to the ‘obvious dangers and harms inherent’ in the feature.\n\nThe new tool also sparked criticism from various digital rights campaigners. A spokesperson for Open Rights Group told **Metro **that the feature created serious privacy concerns.\n\n‘At the very least, such a feature should not be switched on by default but only activated when Meta users choose to opt in,’ they told us.\n\n‘Instead, people have to opt out’.\n\nOnline safety campaigner Adele Zeynep Walton agreed that opt-out models do not go far enough to keep users safe.\n\n‘This feature raises serious questions about consent, privacy and property theft. A photograph is not just an image; it is personal data, and people should have meaningful control over how their likeness is used, processed and repurposed by AI,’ she told **Metro**.\n\nFollowing Meta’s decision to remove the feature, SAG-AFTRA said: ‘With the dangers of nonconsensual digital replicas well known to all, a feature that encouraged that behavior is unwise.\n\n‘We appreciate its discontinuance. It is the responsible thing to do.’\n\nMeta was approached for comment.\n\nMORE: [Moana’s lazy live-action remake is why Hollywood deserves the AI takeover](https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/08/moanas-lazy-live-action-remake-hollywood-deserves-ai-takeover-29088561/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [Airline’s new biometric feature means your face is now your boarding pass](https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/08/airlines-new-biometric-feature-means-face-now-boarding-pass-29085213/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [‘Doctor Trump’ claims rivals have ‘Derangement Syndrome’ in bizarre AI clip](https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/02/doctor-trump-claims-rivals-derangement-syndrome-bizarre-ai-clip-29014971/?ico=more_text_links)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps", "canonical_source": "https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/14/meta-u-turns-ai-image-feature-using-users-snaps-29132922/", "published_at": "2026-07-14 11:14:12+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-14 11:19:15.345246+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["generative-ai", "ai-ethics", "ai-policy", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Meta", "SAG-AFTRA", "Open Rights Group", "Adele Zeynep Walton", "Instagram", "WhatsApp", "Meta AI"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/meta-u-turns-on-feature-that-lets-users-make-ai-images-using-other-peoples-snaps.jsonld"}}