If your Instagram Stories have been flooded with anti-AI messages over the past few days, you’re not alone.
Celebrities and sports stars are among more than 500,000 people who have reposted a viral hoax image which claims to deny Meta, the parent company of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp the right to use their data to train artificial intelligence models.
The message in the image, titled “Goodbye Meta AI”, claims that users can prevent Meta from using their data to train its AI if they share the post on their profile.
Here’s why it’s a hoax, and what you can actually do to stop Meta AI from using your data.
What is Meta AI?
In the summer, Meta confirmed it would begin using data from public posts of users in the UK to train its new AI model, called Llama 3.
The tool – a form of generative AI trained on data available online and capable of processing language to provide intelligent responses in a chat – is used to answer questions similar to the likes of ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot.
It appears in social media feeds and search bars on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, prompting users with topics and launching a chat if a query is sent.
This recent announcement, it would appear, is what sparked the sudden rise in sharing of the post, which has been confirmed to be a hoax. Many of the images shared by high-profile figures have already been partially hidden and labelled as false information by Instagram.
The company has said it would honour the objection of any user who had already submitted one via their account settings, and confirmed it would continue to allow users to opt in or out in this way.
Why are people posting ‘Goodbye Meta AI’ Instagram stories?
Actors including James McAvoy and Julianne Moore, as well as England cricketer Jonny Bairstow and former NFL player Tom Brady are among those who have fallen for the hoax and re-shared the “Goodbye Meta AI” post on Instagram Stories.
“Goodbye Meta AI. Please note an attorney has advised us to put this on, failure to do so may result in legal consequences,” the message reads.
“As Meta is now a public entity all members must post a similar statement. If you do not post at least once it will be assumed you are okay with them using your information and photos.
“I do not give Meta or anyone else permission to use any of my personal data, profile information or photos.”
However, this is not the case – sharing a post on an Instagram story “does not count as a valid form of objection” to Meta’s data policies, a spokesperson for the company confirmed.
How can I actually stop Meta AI from using my data?
Instead, users can simply opt out of their data being used for AI training through their account settings – all it takes is a few clicks and an email address to revoke Meta’s access.
To object via Facebook, users can go to their settings, select Privacy Centre, then select the AI at Meta option and click the “information that you’ve shared on Meta products and services” option under the subheading “Submit an objection request”.
Instagram users can access the Privacy Centre to submit an objection in the same way by going to Settings then scrolling down and selecting Privacy Centre.
It is also worth noting that anything that is not public on your account – such as private posts and messages – will already automatically be excluded from the data used to train Meta AI, as will data from private accounts and accounts of under-18s.
