Meta has suspended its new "Muse Image" AI feature on Instagram, just three days after its debut, following intense global backlash from users, industry bodies and privacy advocates over a system that allows anyone to generate images of other people without their explicit consent.
Launched on July 7, 2026, Muse Image was introduced as an advanced image generation model integrated within the Meta AI chat on Instagram.
The feature’s key selling point was allowing users to generate new images using public Instagram accounts as a reference by simply typing an "@-mention" followed by the username in a prompt, for example "@username walking on the moon".
The tool then processed physical traits from the target account using reasoning AI to synthesise a new image.
The new feature sparked immediate outrage, within hours of its release. The primary catalyst was Meta's decision to make the feature "opt-in by default" for all adult public accounts.
Users were not asked for prior consent, and those wishing to protect their likenesses were forced to dig through complex settings to manually disable the feature.
Compounding these privacy fears, the system featured no notification protocol. If a third party used an account holder’s @-mention to generate custom images, the owner will not be notified, leaving users entirely unaware of how their faces and bodies were being manipulated. Safety experts warned the system created high risks of deepfakes, identity theft, cyberbullying and non-consensual sexually explicit content.
The opposition quickly expanded to Hollywood and international organisations. US actors' union SAG-AFTRA condemned the opt-in setting by default as "unacceptable".
Meanwhile, the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) - which represents A-list stars including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and Zendaya - said no one's name, likeness or voice should be utilised without their clear consent.
London-based campaign group Privacy International told the BBC that the feature was a glaring sign that AI companies view human data merely as raw material to be harvested.
Following three days of relentless pressure, Meta conceded to the criticism on 10 July 2026, officially disabling the @-mention image generation feature on Instagram.
Following the shutdown, attempts to prompt Meta AI using an @-mention are immediately rejected, and Meta has removed the "Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta" toggle from user settings.
While the Muse Image tool remains active for general text-to-image prompts, it can no longer access or reference other users' personal accounts.
Source: Variety, Deadline, The Guardian, BBC
