Meta's Muse AI Explained: Why Public Instagram Photos Are In Focus

Meta has rolled out its Muse Image AI generation model, enabling anyone to reference public Instagram profiles by tagging usernames in AI prompts without notification or explicit consent. The feature went live on July 7 across the Meta AI app, browser, WhatsApp, and Instagram Stories.

It is being promoted as the first image model designed by Meta Superintelligence Labs.

The rollout prompted immediate criticism from privacy advocates over its default opt-in design, as users with public Instagram accounts are automatically enrolled. This means their photos can be used as visual references for AI-generated images unless they manually disable the feature.

Consent Structure Sparks Privacy Anxiety

The controversy revolves around how Meta structured user consent as an automated add-on, enabling anyone to tag a public Instagram username in a Muse Image prompt. This allows the AI to access that person's public photos as references to generate new images.

Meanwhile, the account holder does not receive any notification when their profile is being used. Donald Campbell, advocacy director at Foxglove, told the BBC that the approach was "an obvious recipe for disaster." He pointed to what he called "a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year."

Campbell questioned, "It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea." Subsequently, the default-on setting has become the prime focus of the debate.

Users must navigate to Instagram's settings, locate "Sharing and reuse," and manually toggle off permissions under "Allow people to use your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta" for both Posts and Reels. This blocks AI-based reuse but does not change the account's privacy settings.

Delayed Rollout In India

The controversial Muse Image feature remains unavailable in India, giving Instagram users time to change their settings before its launch. Meanwhile, the feature could face regulatory scrutiny under India's amended IT Rules, which established the country's first legal framework for synthetically generated information (SGI) in February 2025.

The amendments require online platforms to label AI-generated content, remove unlawful SGI within strict timelines, and maintain transparency around AI-driven features. The government drafted these rules following its investigation into X's Grok chatbot, which was accused of generating non-consensual AI images and raised concerns regarding privacy and deepfakes.

Meta's Muse Image shares structural similarities with Grok's functionality, which could potentially trigger similar regulatory scrutiny as the feature rolls out in India.

Though Meta launched this feature in the United States, it has not yet announced a timeline for international expansion or clarified how the tool will comply with SGI regulations in India.