Meta Discontinues Muse Image AI Feature Over Privacy Concerns

Meta announced on Thursday that it will discontinue an artificial‑intelligence feature introduced earlier this week that allowed users to generate images by referencing content from public Instagram accounts. The tool, which automatically drew on publicly posted photos and videos, sparked immediate backlash over privacy concerns, prompting criticism from privacy advocates, industry observers and a Hollywood union that warned the technology could exploit creators’ work without consent.

In a statement, Meta said the feature was intended “to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way,” but acknowledged the widespread criticism and pledged to remove the capability. The company’s decision follows mounting pressure to address how AI systems access and repurpose user‑generated content across its platforms.