Meta announces AI learns from public posts by users, concerns rise

Facebook and Instagram users were notified that their public posts will be used for training Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) from June 26 onwards. This will also include their posts, captions, messages, and photos. Instagram’s help centre assured users their private messages would not be utilised. However, is Meta to be trusted with its past track of privacy issues?

Let’s dive deeper into what this could mean for Instagram and Facebook users.

The parent company, Meta, began notifying people in Europe and the UK. This action was obligatory under the GDPR laws in Europe. Meta AI had already taken over by September 2023 with its “AI personas” that imitate celebrities. Meta also made its Meta AI the default search bar across all platforms—Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Users could not turn this feature off. So, is the training program for the Meta AI also non-optional?

Ask Meta anything search bar.

While users have been told they have a right to opt out of sharing their data, the process is unnecessarily tedious. There seems to be an intention behind making it difficult for users to navigate. The steps are all highly detailed, which leads to users giving up on the process.

How can a user opt out of sharing their data?

It’s been said that the only surefire way out of this is to permanently delete your account. However, there are other ways to limit the amount of data being shared for AI training. On the other hand, the direct link to opt out of the announcement message was only an option for users in certain regions. Otherwise, users will have to go to Meta’s help centre page and fill out one of the three options related to third-party data and fill out a form:

“Access, download or correct any personal information from third parties used for building and improving AI at Meta”
“Delete any personal information from third parties used for building and improving AI at Meta”
“Submit a concern about my personal information from third parties that’s related to a response I received from an AI at Meta model, feature or experience.”

Meta-owned social media apps.

Noticeably, there’s no direct mention or option to opt out of sharing your data with the AI model. After choosing any of the options, they have you fill out a very detailed form with personal data, which seems unnecessary. It also remains unsaid how Meta will be using the data. After all, their privacy is prioritising defence against third parties. We still do not know how Meta uses our data internally. Exhibit will be observing the development of this story. Stay updated!