Meta launched Muse Image, its first AI image generation model, as reported by TechJuice. The tool powers Meta AI, Instagram Stories, and WhatsApp. The new AI tool primarily generates images from text prompts and edits existing photos. Which means the tool can also can create realistic deepfakes of real people without explicit consent. And that is exactly what is going on.
The technology accepts Instagram account tags as prompts. Users can generate images incorporating anyone’s likeness from public posts. They can also generate realistic images of real people doing things they never did, saying things they never said, or appearing in situations they never entered. The potential for abuse is immediate and severe. The most eyebrow-raising aspect of this is that Meta has enabled this setting by default.
People instantly took to the internet to complain and rant about this new feature. A comment on a Reddit sub read:
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Pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to detonate
— Volodymyr Pavlenko (@mindinpanic) July 7, 2026
Meta’s policy mentions that “people might use AI features at Meta to create content based on your Instagram posts” and adds that “you won’t receive any notifications about content generated using these AI features.”
However, the world has already seen the loss caused by deepfakes. Nonconsensual intimate imagery ranks among the most damaging. Bad actors can generate fake nude images of real people. These images spread rapidly on social media, as has been the case for various individuals including notable celebrities over the years. Victims, often women and teenage girls, face harassment, extortion, and lasting reputational damage.
In addition to that, political deepfakes create additional threats. Realistic fake videos or images of candidates could spread election disinformation. Authoritative-looking deepfakes could deceive voters hours before voting. Election officials lack tools to detect and counter deepfakes at scale, and it also enables foreign actors to weaponize the technology against democratic elections.
Meta’s safeguards remain unclear, despite them claiming they have control over the media reshare and reuse. Every image includes an invisible watermark. Content filters block some policy violations. These measures are insufficient. Determined attackers bypass watermarks. Bad faith users circumvent filters. Neither technical measure stops determined misuse.
For anyone wondering how to get out of their content to be used by this new feature at the mercy of miscreants, here is what they need to do:
Open the Instagram app, tap your profile, and then tap the three lines in the top-right corner of the screen. Then, scroll down to the Sharing and reuse tab. Here is where you should see a section labeled Allow people to use your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta, with a toggle for Postsand one for Reels.
One of the main reasons users feel uneasy about Muse is Meta’s track record on privacy. Back in 2019, the company faced a staggering $5 billion fine from the FTC after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had improperly collected data from millions of Facebook users without their consent. This data was used to create targeted voter profiles for the 2016 U.S. election. What’s even more concerning is that Facebook was aware of this data misuse for years before it came to light.
