Instagram's newest AI tool didn't survive the week

It started as a routine product drop. Then it spiraled into a PR nightmare. Now it's gone.

On Friday, Meta said a new feature that allowed users to generate AI images from public Instagram posts is no longer available. Users learned of the feature on Tuesday when Meta unveiled Muse Image, the first image-generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs. Muse Image is available through Meta AI.

"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. We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available," Meta said in an Instagram blog post.

Other Muse Image features, like the ability to make edits directly on photos, are still available.

Instagram users swiftly rebuked the feature after its rollout. They said it raised privacy concerns and created space for deepfake content. Many users shared advice on how to opt out of the feature on social media sites like X and Reddit.

Privacy advocates like Apar Gupta, the founding director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, criticized Meta in a video posted on X on Friday.

"Just because Meta owns one of the largest social media platforms, and we're forced to use it, it's been taking it as an excuse to violate our consent and privacy again and again," Gupta said.

Entertainment groups also criticized the feature. SAG-AFTRA, a labor union representing about 160,000 entertainment and media professionals, urged its members to opt out of the feature.

In a statement to Business Insider, SAG-AFTRA said that "anything other than a clear and conspicuous OPT-IN for these types of uses of Instagram users' images is unacceptable, and an utter miscalculation of public sentiment regarding the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use."

The union applauded Meta's decision to reel back the feature. "With the dangers of nonconsensual digital replicas well known to all, a feature that encouraged that behavior is unwise. We appreciate its discontinuance. It is the responsible thing to do," the union said.

Creative Artists Agency, a talent group representing a slew of A-list stars, also criticized the feature. "No one's name, image, likeness, voice, or creative work should be used by any third party, including AI models, without clear, documented consent," the agency said in a statement shared with Variety. "True innovation puts creators first: respecting their rights, protecting their livelihoods, and giving them real control, not handing it over to platforms."

AI has become a source of tension for entertainers, some of whom worry that it will be used to steal their likeness, voices, or iconic phrases without their consent. Celebrities like Matthew McConaughey and Jeremy Clarkson have registered trademarks to protect their likeness from AI.

Like Meta, OpenAI faced backlash after releasing Sora 2, an AI video-generation platform, in 2025. The platform initially allowed users to create content featuring trademarked characters, drawing ire from entertainment companies such as Studio Ghibli. Although OpenAI secured a partnership with Disney to legally use those characters, Sora 2 shut down in March.