Meta on Tuesday introduced Muse Image, its new AI image generator developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s dedicated AI unit. The feature, codenamed Mango internally, is now available for free on the Meta AI app, as well as on Instagram Stories and WhatsApp.
Unfortunately, the new model is already causing controversy.
What exactly can you do with Muse? It sounds like the use cases are similar to most other AI image generators – you can create lots of silly, cartoon-style images, for example.
If you’re lacking inspiration and unable to create original prompts yourself, Meta says Muse offers “presets” — pre-made image prompts — to “spark ideas.”
However, one particularly eye-catching feature allows users to manipulate another Instagram user’s images using AI, as long as that user’s profile is public. Users simply tag the person and can take their photo and create a new AI image.
After The Verge first pointed out how potentially invasive this was, a said
The Meta policy states that “people may be able to create content using your Instagram content using AI features on Meta” and that “you will not be notified of content created using AI features on Meta.”
Meta claims that users have “control” over this feature and notes that there are settings that allow you to disable this type of co-opting of your images if you wish.
Muse has other, less invasive uses. One of these is creating custom ads (AI has made significant inroads into advertising in the last year). Another is experimenting with interior design ideas – in a promotional video, a user uses Muse to see what a used couch might look like in his garage. This last feature is designed to integrate with Facebook Marketplace, Meta’s popular Craigslist-like collection site for used furniture and accessories.
The model also features prompt-based image editing, allowing users to create images to share across Meta’s apps and platforms.
“Ask it to create a picture of you in front of a historic landmark, cleanly erase a photobomber from the background of a shot, or write a custom prompt to create a working QR code,” the company offers.
At the same time, Meta is launching a range of new AI effects for Instagram Stories powered by Muse – notably the same platform that is at the center of the photo tagging concerns mentioned above. These effects include customizable filters that can modify existing photos.
According to Meta, the new AI model is free to use for “everyday creation,” although users will need a subscription once they exceed a certain limit.
The company also said that Muse Video – presumably an AI video generator – is “already in development.” TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for more information.
Meta has released a number of AI apps and services over the past year, including an AI assistant called Creator and Pocket, an app that can be used to vibe code video games. The company has been accused of pursuing a vague AI strategy, although it will continue to spend heavily on AI infrastructure this year as it continues to expand its services.
Meta’s privacy is one of the reasons for users’ discomfort with Muse. The company paid a then-record fine of $5 billion to the FTC in 2019 after regulators found that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly collected data from tens of millions of Facebook users – without their knowledge – to create voter-targeted profiles ahead of the 2016 US election. Facebook knew about the data misuse for years before it became public.
Separately, in 2021, the company shut down Facebook’s facial recognition system – a tool that had automatically recognized people in photos and videos – amid lawsuits and regulatory pressure over its collection of biometric data. Basically, Muse’s photo tagging feature, which is disabled by default, fits a pattern that users and regulators have noted before: widespread use of people’s data unless they actively turn it off.
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https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/meta-rolls-out-muse-a-new-ai-image-generator/
