Meta has introduced Muse Image, a new artificial intelligence image generator that can create and edit pictures across the Meta AI app, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The company has also previewed a web-based tool that checks whether an image contains an invisible watermark added by Muse Image. However, the model is already facing privacy concerns because it can use public photos from other Instagram accounts to generate new images.
One of Muse Image’s most controversial features allows users to mention public Instagram accounts in prompts.
Tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos from that profile to create a new image. This means a person’s likeness can appear in AI-generated content created by another user.
Meta’s policy says people may create AI content using a user’s Instagram material, and that the person whose content was used may not receive a notification.
Meta says users can disable the feature through their Instagram settings. However, the system allows this use unless the account holder actively turns it off, according to TechCrunch.
Muse Image can generate pictures from written prompts or edit existing photos.
Users can remove unwanted people from backgrounds, place themselves in different locations, produce functional QR codes, and draw directly on images to request specific changes.
The model also includes preset prompts for users who need ideas. These can restore old family photographs, test different hairstyles or transform people into animated and video-game characters.
Muse Image can also redesign rooms using products found online or through Facebook Marketplace. Meta plans to offer the model to advertisers and agencies through its Advantage+ creative tools.
More than 30 AI-powered effects are also being introduced for Instagram Stories, initially in the United States before a wider rollout.
Meta says Muse Image is free for everyday image creation.
Users who exceed the company’s free usage allowance will need one of Meta’s subscription plans. Meta has not provided the exact limit for free image generation.
Muse Image adds a proprietary invisible watermark called Content Seal to images it creates or edits.
Meta says the watermark should remain detectable after an image has been cropped, resized, compressed, or captured through a screenshot.
Unlike some earlier Meta AI images, Muse Image creations do not display a visible logo in the corner. Users must instead upload an image to Meta’s web-based detection tool to check for the hidden watermark.
A positive result means the image was generated or edited through the Meta AI app or Meta’s AI website. A negative result means it is unlikely that Muse Image processed the picture.
The detection tool currently works only with images created or edited using Muse Image.
It cannot reliably identify images produced through older versions of Meta’s AI systems. It is also not compatible with Google’s SynthID or C2PA Content Credentials, which other companies use to identify and track AI-generated media.
Engadget also found that the web tool imposed a daily limit after only a small number of identification checks. The same detection capability does not appear to be available directly inside the Meta AI app.
Meta plans to expand Content Seal to AI-generated and AI-edited videos. The company is also developing a separate Muse Video model.
Meta has previously faced criticism over how it identifies AI-generated content across its services.
The Meta Oversight Board recently raised concerns that the company was applying digital watermarks inconsistently to content produced through its own AI tools.
Although Content Seal provides a way to identify new Muse Image creations, its inability to detect older Meta AI images or content from other generators limits its usefulness as a general AI-detection tool.
The privacy concerns surrounding public Instagram photos also remain separate from the watermarking system. Content Seal may show that Meta AI created an image, but it does not resolve concerns about whether the people appearing in that image gave direct permission.
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