How to Stop Meta Using Your Instagram Photos & Reels for AI
Meta, who owns and operates FaceBook and Instagram, has enabled a setting automatically that allows anyone to use your public Instagram photos, profile picture, and/or reels for AI purposes. This includes everything from your posts, stories, stickers, reels, and even your profile photo. Some users may not like this, whether they’re opposed to AI in general, or for security or privacy implications, while others may not mind at all.
If you’d like to turn this setting off for your Instagram account, here’s exactly how to do that.
How to Disable Meta AI Reuse of Your Instagram Photos, Profile Photo, & Reels
Here’s how to prevent the AI reuse and repurposing of your Instagram stuff:
- Open the Instagram app and go to your profile
- Tap on the three lines button in the top right corner to access settings
- Scroll down and tap on “Sharing and reuse”
- Look for the section where it says “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta” and toggle the switch for both “Posts” (including your profile photo) and “Reels” to the OFF positions
- Optionally, scroll further down and disable similar AI reuse options for audio
If you read the fine print attached to the Reels setting, it says the following:
“This lets people use your posts and reels in remixes, sequences, templates, and stickers, and download them as part of their own post or reel. They can also save stickers you’ve shared in a reel or story. In addition, this lets people create with your Instagram content using Al features at Meta. To turn off reuse for a specific post or reel, go to its More menu. You can’t turn off reuse of original audio, text, or comments.”
Maybe these settings and features are something you won’t mind, but if you’d rather not have your stuff repurposed for who knows what usage by others and AI, you might want to toggle these settings off. But like everything, it’s a matter of personal choice.
This applies to all Instagram accounts, whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Android, or even the web. So keep that in mind.
And yes if you have multiple Instagram accounts, you need to make this settings adjustment independently for each individual account.
It seems like every few weeks to months there’s some new setting introduced by Meta/Instagram/Facebook that people are annoyed by, and this one is no different; some people on social media are upset about it, while others don’t seem to care at all. Not long ago it was the Instants button that floats atop your instagram messages, and in the past it has been everything from hiding those annoying suggested posts to stopping location sharing, and more. Love it or hate it, Instagram is a major part of the internet social media experience, and since it is their playground and we just feed it content, they make the rules.
Feel free to share any thoughts on this, and your own preferences, in the comments below.
