Facebook users are now being prompted to grant Meta AI access to their photo roll.
While this is mostly used for generating emojis from existing photos, Meta’s Terms of Service indicates that it has the right to retain and use any personal information. Users who agree to have Meta AI access their photo roll may risk exposing their entire gallery.
People object to AI being trained on content that they post on social networks, but now Meta has gone a step further. Facebook is asking users permission to access photos that are on their phone, for Meta’s AI.
Users say that when they tried to post a new story on Facebook, a pop-up appears and asks if the user wants to opt into “cloud processing”, which will allow creative suggestions. Choosing to allow it will grant access to your camera roll, i.e. images which you have never shared online.
So far, it is unclear whether this prompt only appears in specific jurisdictions. Furthermore, there are conflicting reports confirming that the setting itself is opt-in or not.
One user says that Meta created an AI-generated “Memories” notification with an anime version of an image that he posted on Facebook. Another user from Europe replied to the post saying that a mail from Facebook and Instagram asked for permission to use photos, and that it had an option to object (decline). It is unclear if users from other regions have received similar notifications, from what I can tell the email seems to have only been sent to users in the EU.
TechCrunch reports that by tapping “Allow” when Facebook requests access to the Camera roll, users agree to Meta’s AI terms of service, which means it can analyze your media, facial features, etc. It also gives Meta the right to retain and use any personal data you have shared to train its AI. And of course, the data will be reviewed, meaning Facebook employees could have access to the data.
Some users have advised disabling the option labeled “Get camera roll suggestions when you’re browsing Facebook”, which can be found under the Camera Roll. To access the option go to the top of your feed, tap + Create Story. Then tap on the cog wheel icon, and select the Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions. You may notice a second option on the same page, this is the one that lets you disable “Get creative ideas made for you by allowing camera roll cloud processing”. You may also want to check the official help documentation.