On Instagram and WhatsApp, millions of users post photographs assuming their images belong to them. Meta's latest AI feature, Muse Image, is quietly challenging that assumption. Available through the Meta AI app, web browser, and Instagram Stories for users in the United States, the tool can generate new images by drawing on the profile pictures of real people — without notifying those people that it is happening. The backlash was swift.

Donald Campbell, advocacy director at Foxglove, a tech-justice non-profit, told the BBC that the feature was "an obvious recipe for disaster," pointing to a wave of harm caused by non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms over the past year alone. Privacy International added its voice, arguing that the feature reflects a broader pattern in which AI companies treat personal images and data as raw material to be freely exploited — a view that is gaining traction among regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United Kingdom, the communications regulator Ofcom is already investigating the platform X over similar concerns about its Grok AI system. Meta insists that users retain control.

A dedicated opt-out setting, separate from standard account privacy controls, is available to anyone with a public account. To activate it, users must navigate to Instagram's settings, select "Sharing and Reuse," and manually disable the relevant toggle. Critics, however, argue that burying an opt-out inside a settings submenu — rather than asking for explicit consent upfront — reveals exactly where the company's priorities lie. The distinction between opt-in and opt-out may seem technical, but it carries real weight: one places the burden on the company, the other places it squarely on you.