Can Facebook Scan Your Camera Roll? Here’s What’s New
Facebook’s access to your camera roll has been in the air since summer. Back in June, the company was testing a feature that would suggest AI-edited photos and collages — even from images you never uploaded. Now, it’s officially rolling out in the U.S. and Canada, with more countries expected to follow in the coming months.
These AI-powered sharing suggestions appear when you’re creating a Story or scrolling through your Feed. Let’s take a closer look at what it actually does and what to watch out for.
What’s the Update About?
This new Facebook tool “surfaces photos and videos and suggests fun edits and collages, making it easier to share your favorite moments.”
It sounds handy at first, but there’s a catch: suggested collages can include photos straight from your camera roll, even the ones you never uploaded to Facebook.
When you opt in, Facebook uploads selected photos to Meta’s cloud, where its AI scans them for “hidden gems” and suggests edits or collages you can save or share. It could save you time, but it’s important to understand exactly how this feature works before giving access.
How Does the Feature Work?
The feature is optional. When you go ahead and create a Story, a pop-up asks whether you want to “allow cloud processing to get creative ideas made for you from your camera roll”. If you don’t allow it, Facebook won’t have access to your photos.
But if you do opt in, you agree to Meta’s AI Terms and Services, which means the selected images from your camera roll are stored in Meta’s cloud, where the AI scans them to generate suggestions for edits or collages.
Meta spokesperson Mari Melguizio told The Verge:
“This means the camera roll media uploaded by this feature to make suggestions won’t be used to improve AI at Meta. Only if you edit the suggestions with our AI tools or publish those suggestions to Facebook, improvements to AI at Meta may be made.”
In short, Meta says your private photos won’t be used to train AI unless you actively edit or share them.
Can Facebook Access My Camera Roll Without Permission?
Importantly, this feature requires explicit opt-in. Without your consent, Facebook cannot peek into your camera roll.
This distinction is especially important for social media managers or creators handling sensitive content: Meta cannot train AI models on your private photos automatically. Only images you actively edit or share are potentially used to improve Meta’s AI tools.
If you manage content on Facebook, now’s a good time to review your settings and decide which permissions fit your workflow.
