Meta pulls Muse Image's @-mention feature after SAG-AFTRA and CAA backlash

Meta removed the @-mention feature from its new Muse Image generator on July 10, three days after launching it, following objections from SAG-AFTRA and the Creative Artists Agency over how the tool used people’s likenesses.

The reversal walks back a capability Meta had promoted when it introduced Muse Image, its first image-generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, inside Meta AI on July 7. As launched, any user could @-mention a public Instagram account to have the model reference that account’s photos when generating images, an opt-out design that put the burden on people to exclude themselves.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing performers, recommended members and users opt out, telling them to “take action to protect your likeness.” The Creative Artists Agency was blunter, saying: “No one’s name, image, likeness, voice or creative work should be used by any third party, including AI models, without clear, documented consent.”

Meta pulled the capability entirely. “We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available,” the company said, adding that users now have “an easy setting to turn this feature off at any time.” Meta said private accounts and accounts belonging to users under 18 are automatically excluded from Muse Image, and that adult users with public accounts can opt out within a couple of clicks.

The retreat leaves the underlying consent question unsettled. Meta removed one feature but has not moved Muse Image to an opt-in model for likeness use, the standard the CAA and SAG-AFTRA are pressing for.