Meta 'missed the mark,' disables AI Instagram feature after backlash
Less than a week after implementing a new AI-image generator, Meta rolled back a feature that received widespread backlash from users.
On July 10, Meta disabled a feature allowing Instagram users to easily create AI-generated images from photos and videos shared by public accounts. The feature, which was automatically enabled on all Instagram accounts, was introduced on July 7 along with Meta's new Muse Image, the tech giant's latest AI-image generator.
"Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference. Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way," a Meta statement obtained by USA TODAY on July 10 said. "We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available."
But in a TikTok video shared over the weekend, content creator and social media consultant Sarah Whittle reminded viewers any content on the internet can still be used to create AI-generated content. Just because Instagram users can no longer tag specific accounts while using Muse, doesn't mean photos can't be pulled over to the AI generator in other ways.
"Is it good that this public outcry ... led to some good changes? Yeah, but ultimately, this doesn't change anyone from taking any piece of content online and putting it into another generative tool," Whittle said in her video.
What Instagram feature was disabled?
Available as part of Meta's newly launched Muse Image, an Instagram user could enter the username of another public user to pull photos and videos from that account to create AI-generated content, as long as this other public user allowed it. Users had the ability to prohibit their content from being used in this way through their profile settings.
What were people saying about the feature?
The feature that allowed Instagram users to @-mention other public users to create AI-generated images was largely met with criticism, including from several larger organizations.
"With the dangers of nonconsensual digital replicas well known to all, a feature that encouraged that behavior is unwise," labor union SAG-AFTRA said in a social media statement after the feature was released. "We appreciate its discontinuance. It is the responsible thing to do."
While some expressed concerns about AI image generation broadly, more appeared upset that the feature was automatically enabled.
"The tool itself is not the surprising part. The surprising part is still pretending 'you can turn it off in settings' is meaningful consent for normal users," one Reddit user said in the r/technology subreddit.
"This definitely changes how I think about public profiles," another user said in the r/Instagram subreddit. "Convenience for AI shouldn't come at the cost of user privacy."
What is Muse Image? What can it do?
Muse Image functions, in many ways, similarly to ChatGPT's image generator. A user may enter a written prompt to create an image from scratch or input photos/videos to alter or create something new.
Examples Meta provides in a news release include creating a mock up of a user at a historical landmark, erasing a photobomber from a group photo or creating a functional QR code from scratch. Muse can also create text-heavy images, like infographics or invitations.
Muse can also virtually design a room, based on a photo of the room, and provide product recommendations from the internet or Facebook Marketplace, according to a Meta news release.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meta 'missed the mark,' disables AI Instagram feature after backlash
Reporting by Greta Cross, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 3:20 PM.