Meta Launches Muse Image: How to Opt Out Before It Uses Your Instagram Photos

Meta’s Superintelligence Labs launched yet another AI tool that raised eyebrows the moment it was unveiled. Muse Image is a new image generation tool embedded in Meta AI and available through Instagram and WhatsApp for US users first. 

Beyond generating fun images from text prompts, Muse Image can also use public Instagram photos as references for new AI-generated images. That means anyone can reference your public Instagram account in a prompt without your knowledge or consent. If you’d rather that didn’t happen, you’ll need to opt out manually. 

What is Muse Image? 

Muse Image is Meta’s latest image generation tool, built into Meta AI. Here’s a list of things you can do with it: 

• Generate images from text prompts, with preset ideas to help you get started. 

• Use public Instagram photos as references by tagging any public Instagram username. Muse can use photos from that account to generate new AI images without requiring the account owner’s permission.
• Blend multiple reference images into a single composition, combining people, objects, clothing, styles, or environments. 
• Edit existing images using text prompts, such as placing yourself in front of a landmark or removing someone from the background.
• Create AI-generated advertising assets for businesses and brands.
• Preview furniture and home décor from Facebook Marketplace in your own space before purchasing.
• Generate functional QR codes from text prompts.
• Search the web during image generation to improve factual accuracy.
• Refine its own image outputs during the generation process.
• Create animated GIFs and interactive visual experiences when combined with Meta’s Muse Spark language model. 
• Power AI effects for Instagram Stories, including 30 customizable filters such as a disposable camera film effect. 
• Generate images directly inside WhatsApp chats. 
• Invisibly watermark all AI-generated images using Content Seal. 

This long list of features could potentially save you time on creative assets, especially if you’re a one-(wo)man-show or a small team, there’s one that deserves a closer look. 

The Privacy Concern

One feature in particular was quickly spotted by the community and caused immediate backlash (and it’s easy to miss in the list): anyone can tag your public Instagram username in a Muse prompt and generate an AI image using your photos without your knowledge. And you won’t be notified when it happens. If someone has already created an AI image using your content before you opt out, that image will not be deleted. 

Meta’s own help page states:

In addition, people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta. […] You will not be notified about content created using AI features at Meta.

Private accounts and accounts belonging to users under 18 are excluded automatically. However, all other public Instagram accounts are opted in by default.

How to Opt Out of Muse Image on Instagram

If you weren’t aware of this, the good news is that you can easily opt out. If you have a public Instagram account, here’s how it goes: 

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile
2. Tap the three lines in the top-right corner to open Settings and activity
3. Scroll down to Sharing and reuse
4. Toggle off Posts and Reels under “Allow people to use your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta”

⚠️ Note: This feature is rolling out gradually, so the setting may not appear in your account yet. If you don’t see it, check back later. For now, the only guaranteed way to prevent your content from being used is to switch your account to a private profile.

Content Seal: Meta’s Transparency Tool 

Knowing how to opt out and also understanding Meta’s “Content Seal” technology may help ease some of the anxiety that comes with a new tool like this.

Content Seal is Meta’s invisible watermark that Meta adds to every AI-generated image created with Muse. According to Meta, the watermark system remains detectable “even when cropped, compressed, resized, or screenshotted”. 

Meta is also developing a detection tool that will allow users to check whether an image contains a Content Seal watermark. 

Takeaway for Content Teams 

Like any AI image tool, Muse Image can speed up content creation, but it also raises some legitimate privacy concerns, especially when it uses real people’s images without their explicit consent. 

So the best thing you can do? Be aware of the implications and how your data can be used. And when in doubt, do opt out of Muse reusing your photos. Especially if you’re managing multiple accounts for clients, their data security should come before quick image generation.