Meta is facing a wave of public backlash following the rollout of Muse Image, its latest AI tool capable of generating pictures using public Instagram profile pictures without notifying the affected users.

Developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, Muse Image is the company’s first image generation model, now integrated directly into Meta AI. The tool functions as a text-to-image generator, allowing individuals to create high-quality visuals from simple, written conversational prompts.

According to a blog by Meta, the system utilises “advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere — including directly to your chat, story, or feed.”

The feature is already live for US users across the Meta AI app and web browsers, as well as on WhatsApp and within Instagram Stories. Meta intends to expand Muse Image to Facebook, Messenger, and its Advantage+ creative platform for advertisers and agencies in the coming weeks.

However, the technology has sparked immediate outcry over privacy concerns. Users are able to “@-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images.” Meta explained that “whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalised graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that’s ready to post.”

The launch comes amid heightened scrutiny from UK and international regulators regarding AI-generated content. Notably, the British media regulator Ofcom is currently investigating X over Grok’s role in creating and sharing non-consensual AI-altered images of real people.

Addressing privacy concerns, Meta stated that users have “control over how your content can be tagged for AI creation with an easy setting to turn this feature off at any time.” A dedicated setting, separate from standard account privacy controls, allows users to opt out even if they maintain a public account.

To stop their photos from being utilised, users must navigate to Instagram’s settings menu, select “Sharing and Reuse” and switch off “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta” for posts and reels. These options are only visible to public accounts; private accounts are automatically restricted from being shared.

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Beyond profile image integration, Muse Image is paired with Meta’s Muse Spark model, enabling the system to take “multiple steps behind the scenes – planning its layout, looking up real-time web context, and intelligently blending multiple visual references at once.” The software features more than 30 new AI-powered effects for Instagram Stories, a presets panel for styling photos, a room redesign tool linked to Facebook Marketplace, and a markup icon allowing users to sketch or annotate edits directly onto generated photos.

While everyday creation with Muse Image remains free, Meta is offering expanded capabilities as part of its paid subscription plans. The company also confirmed that further developments are underway, stating that “with Muse Video already in development, Meta is building entirely new ways for you to bring your ideas to life, getting one step closer to personal superintelligence.”