Meta has removed a feature from its new Muse Image AI tool that allowed users to generate images by referencing photos from public Instagram accounts, following swift backlash from users and talent agencies.
The feature was introduced earlier in the week of July 10, 2026, as part of a broader rollout of AI tools from Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s dedicated AI unit. It enabled users to @-mention public Instagram accounts to reference their photos when generating AI images. Critically, the feature did not notify account holders when their photos were used in this way.
Meta announced the removal in a blog post on Friday. Puck News founding partner Dylan Byers was first to report the company’s decision. “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,” Meta wrote. “We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”
Scrutiny came from users and talent agencies, including CAA, according to Byers. The backlash was immediate enough that TechCrunch published a guide explaining how users could disable the feature before Meta pulled it entirely.
The episode highlights an ongoing challenge for platforms integrating AI tools into social media. As the source notes, AI has frequently been misused to generate non-consensual images — often targeting female celebrities — and platform safeguards have repeatedly fallen short of preventing such abuse. Meta’s decision to remove the feature suggests the company may not have fully anticipated how the referencing capability could be misused before launching it.
Source: TechCrunch