Meta pauses Instagram AI training on public photos after backlash

Technology Jul 15, 2026

Instagram quietly rolled out a setting that let Meta's AI models use public photos for training unless users opted out.

People were upset about not being told first, and after the outcry, Meta hit pause on the feature (for now).

Hidden 'Sharing and reuse' opt-out criticized

The opt-out is hidden under "Sharing and reuse" in settings, and many felt blindsided, especially since this helps power Meta's new Muse AI tool.

Blogger for security firm Malwarebytes Danny Bradbury called out Meta for not deleting any AI-generated content made before opting out.

There are also big worries about deepfakes and impersonation risks if public photos get misused.