Facebook’s AI Wants To See All Your Photos, Even Those You Don’t Share

We all love seeing our pictures in different creative forms and on social media. However, what if these creative ideas are generated with an AI feature that accesses your gallery and even uses pictures you've decided not to share with anyone? Well, most folks probably wouldn't be too keen on that idea. And that's why a new feature on the Facebook app is raising some serious privacy concerns.

The feature is designed to use your videos and photos for creative ideas to impress you and your loved ones. This is likely similar to the Memories and Creations features on the Google Photos app, compiling remarkable pictures from memorable events like graduations, anniversaries, birthdays, and weddings.

This feature will pop up when a user tries to create a new story on Facebook. And if you opt-in, the AI-fueled feature will be permitted to use all of your images and pictures. Thereafter, it automatically performs many image editing duties on gallery photos and videos.

Concerns about how images may be used have generated concerns. This is especially true considering Meta's AI Terms of Service wording. For instance, according to the AI policy, once you share an image, you have equally consented to Meta using AI to analyze the image. Hence, Meta will be able to summarize the image content, modify the pictures and create new content based on them.


Meta's AI policy also reveals that AIs may retain and use information you have given to "provide more personalized Outputs." Also, it states that a user's personal information may be shared with third parties and that these third parties may choose to use it in accordance with their privacy policies. What if these third parties used the information, which may include your photos, in ways you do not approve of? Or suppose Meta were to use these photos, which you have not explicitly shared, to train its AI models without your consent? 

In a comment to TechCrunch, Meta Spokesperson Maria Cubeta revealed that the feature is a test, currently. She emphasized that users must consent to use it and can opt-out. She added that information obtained from the camera roll would not be used to train its AI models in the test. Recently, Google had to respond to similar privacy fears about its AI data collection practices. While big tech companies continue to assure users of their commitment to privacy, these promises often can't be relied upon. The best bet is to keep information you want private off social media platforms. Additionally, always read consent agreements carefully before opting in.