Bengaluru, 8 July

Tech giant Meta's new AI image generator, Muse Image, has run into controversy after its unveiling on Tuesday, with many objecting to the feature that allows users to manipulate images posted by others from public profiles, as long as the former are tagged in it. The generator is currently available on the Meta AI app, Instagram Stories and WhatsApp. 

Users on X said the feature was a "privacy landmine," and media outlet The Verge referred to it as "invasive." Meta policy states that “people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta” and that “you will not be notified about content created using AI features at Meta.” The policy is opt-out rather than opt-in, which means it is automatically enabled on Meta profiles and users have to manually disable it. 

Built by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s AI unit, the generator also allows people to create images with their own prompts as well as having built-in prompts. Some use cases for it include generating advertisements and help with interior decorating, integrated with Facebook Marketplace. 

Muse users have to pay a subscription free to use the app once they reach a certain limit. The company is also reportedly developing an AI video generator, and has already released an AI assistant called Creator, and the Pocket app to vibe-code video games.