{"id":4643,"date":"2026-07-13T01:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T20:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4643"},"modified":"2026-07-13T01:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T20:48:11","slug":"meta-withdraws-its-controversial-ai-image-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4643","title":{"rendered":"Meta withdraws its controversial AI image feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<p>Meta&#8217;s Must Image tool, which launched last Tuesday, is now being shuttered by the company, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/meta-discontinues-ai-image-feature-days-after-launch-2026-07-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The social media giant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/meta-discontinues-ai-image-feature-days-after-launch-2026-07-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\"><u>released a statement<\/u><\/a> on Friday announcing it would discontinue the feature: &#8220;Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public \u200bcontent could be referenced in this way. We&#8217;ve \u200bheard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so \u2060it&#8217;s no longer available.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Meta launched Muse Image as part of a suite of new AI tools. Designed for Instagram and WhatsApp users, it lets them touch up, alter, or add 3D effects to new photos. Muse Image took things a step further, allowing users to use photos from public-facing Instagram accounts as reference material for generative AI. Worse still, they enabled the feature by default, so if you didn&#8217;t want your personal photos being used as AI fodder, you had to either make your account private or locate the specific setting that would toggle the feature off.<\/p>\n<section x-data=\"window.newsletter({ isDeal: false })\" x-init=\"init()\" aria-label=\"Newsletter Sign-Up\" class=\"relative invisible my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl md:my-16 ziff-component accent-cut-for-gradient-bg accent-cut-border-for-gradient-bg bg-gradient-fuchsia-secondary p-[2px]\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"text-gradient-fuchsia-secondary\">Mashable Light Speed<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, the backlash came hard and fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mindinpanic\/status\/2074603011389657563\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/owenthcarey\/status\/2074579023125201038\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pawzzard\/status\/2074619112022483256\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JosWillard\/status\/2075237687796068374\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But it was actors and other famous people with massive followings and public accounts who led the charge. <em>Hacks <\/em>star Hannah Einbinder took to her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hannaheinbinder\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\"><u>Instagram<\/u><\/a> stories to urge her followers not to use the feature, prompting the Screen Actors Guild to take action as well, urging its members to &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/07\/sag-aftra-recommends-members-opt-out-meta-ai-feature-1236979025\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\"><u>protect your likeness<\/u><\/a>&#8221; by deactivating it.\u00a0To its credit, though, this time around Meta listened.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sagaftra\/status\/2075388961560658379\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There&#8217;s no shortage of controversy regarding generative AI and copyright issues, whether we&#8217;re talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/studio-minor-performers-surrender-voices-ai-1236630694\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\"><u>companies asking child actors to sign away their voice rights<\/u><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/tech-news\/us-record-labels-are-suing-ai-music-generators-alleging-copyright-infr-rcna158660\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\"><u>major record labels suing music generators over creative use<\/u><\/a>, but leave it to Meta to carelessly trip every wire and provoke a backlash so severe that they were immediately forced to back down.<\/p>\n<p>Expect more heated battles over image rights, privacy, and generative AI as these tools only become more powerful and more ubiquitous, but in the meantime, let&#8217;s all be glad that Meta was receptive to the negative feedback.<\/p>\n<section class=\"mx-auto max-w-7xl\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap mt-8 w-full font-sans subtitle-2 editor-content\">\n<p>\n        <span class=\"mr-1.5 font-sans font-bold\">Topics<\/span><br \/>\n                    <a class=\"underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 mr-1.5\" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/artificial-intelligence\" aria-label=\"Navigate to the Artificial Intelligence tag\" data-ga-click=\"\" data-ga-label=\"$text\">Artificial Intelligence<\/a><br \/>\n                    <a class=\"underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 \" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/meta\" aria-label=\"Navigate to the Meta tag\" data-ga-click=\"\" data-ga-label=\"$text\">Meta<\/a>\n            <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meta&#8217;s Must Image tool, which launched last Tuesday, is now being shuttered by the company, according to Reuters. The social media giant released a statement on Friday announcing it would discontinue the feature: &#8220;Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public \u200bcontent could be referenced&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/03hVPYmS1vOJXD4c5qxkljr\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783881289.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}