Meta’s Facebook uses phone photos for AI if users allow it
The new feature is part of Meta’s strategy to improve AI after criticism of its Llama 4 model.
Meta has introduced a new feature that allows Facebook to access and analyse users’ photos stored on their phones, provided they give explicit permission.
The move is part of a broader push to improve the company’s AI tools, especially after the underwhelming reception of its Llama 4 model. Users who opt in will be agreeing to Meta’s AI Terms of Service, which grants the platform the right to retain and use personal media for content suggestions.
The new feature, currently being tested in the US and Canada, is designed to offer Facebook users creative ideas for Stories by processing their photos and videos through cloud infrastructure.
When enabled, users may receive suggestions such as collages or travel highlights based on when and where images were captured, as well as who or what appears in them. However, participation is strictly optional and can be turned off at any time.
Facebook clarifies that the media analysed under the feature is not used to train AI models in the current test. Still, the system does upload selected media to Meta’s servers on an ongoing basis, raising privacy concerns.
The option to activate these suggestions can be found in the Facebook app’s settings, where users are asked whether they want camera roll data to inform sharing ideas.
Meta has been actively promoting its AI ambitions, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushing for the development of ‘superintelligence’. The company recently launched Meta Superintelligence Labs to lead these efforts.
Despite facing stiff competition from OpenAI, DeepSeek and Google, Meta appears determined to deepen its use of personal data to boost its AI capabilities.
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