Meta is testing a feature that uploads and analyzes users' camera roll photos and videos to its cloud to generate AI-driven suggestions such as collages, monthly recaps, themed albums, and AI-restyled images. The test is active in the US and Canada but is restricted in certain states because of privacy laws. Meta displays a consent pop-up for cloud processing, though some users report settings were enabled by default without seeing the prompt. Meta reportedly pulls roughly the past 30 days of photos; disabling the feature triggers deletion of uploaded images after 30 days, verifiable only by downloading account data. The practice raises concerns about extending data collection into private, unposted visual content and about clarity of consent.
Meta is uploading and analyzing your camera roll photos and videos, even ones you haven't posted, in its cloud in order to generate AI-powered suggestions like collages, monthly recaps, themed albums, or AI-restyled versions of your images. Meta has confirmed the feature is a test, saying, "We're exploring ways to make content sharing easier for people on Facebook by testing suggestions of ready-to-share and curated content from a person's camera roll." The test is currently available in the US and Canada, but it's not available in due to those states' privacy laws.
Meta is showing a pop-up asking users if they want to enable cloud processing, but some users claim they haven't seen it. Instead, they found the toggles in their settings already switched on by default, raising questions about whether clear consent was given. ZDNET's sister site, CNET, reports that Meta pulls from your newer pictures (roughly the last 30 days) and if you disable the feature, your uploaded photos will be deleted after 30 days. The only way to confirm is by downloading your Facebook account data.
It expands Meta's reach beyond the content you've chosen to upload and share online -- into your private, unposted photos and videos. For many, that's a major red flag and a line they're not comfortable crossing, understandably so. Even if Meta is asking for consent to access your camera roll in order to analyze your phone's photos and provide AI-powered suggestions, the company could have done a better job of being clear and explicit about what it's trying to do.
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