In recent days, Meta has begun testing in Facebook has a tool that asks users to access all the photos on their mobile phone.Including those that have not been published on the social networkThis new product, launched in an experimental phase exclusively in U.S. and Canada, raises reasonable doubts about privacy and use of personal data among those who use the app to share their stories.
The function appears when trying to create a story: The app displays a pop-up message asking for permission to enable what it calls "cloud processing." By accepting, you allow Images from your camera roll, along with metadata such as date, location, people and objects in the photo, are automatically and periodically uploaded to Meta's servers.. The stated goal is to offer creative suggestions, such as collages, summaries, or thematic adaptations generated with artificial intelligence.These suggestions are only visible to the user, and are never used to personalize advertising, according to the company.
How does access work and what does it mean for users?
As confirmed by various sources, Access is completely optional and can be withdrawn at any time from your Facebook settings. (in section Reel Sharing Suggestions). Once granted, Meta's AI may analyze the images and their detected elements —such as faces, animals, locations, or dates—to personalize suggestions based on important events (e.g., birthdays, vacations, or graduations). Meta ensures that the entire process complies with its AI usage conditions., whose consent is required to activate the function.
The company insists that The images in the film are not used to train artificial intelligence models in this testing phase.Several Meta spokespersons, such as María Cubeta and Ryan Daniels, have indicated that the goal is to facilitate the process of sharing content, making the creation of stories and posts more intuitive through recommendations based on material saved on the phone. Learn how to improve your photos with these tools can further enhance the experience this feature offers.
Controversy, doubts and debate about privacy
The announcement of the feature has generated significant reaction among users, security experts, and authorities. The fact that AI has automated access to private photos —some of them sensitive or personal—adds concern to the already common concerns about the control that big tech companies have over individual data. Although Meta emphasizes that this feature is purely optional and its recommendations only appear on the user's profile, the possibility that images may be stored and processed in the cloud has made many think twice before accepting the permission.
The company's terms of service make it clear that By allowing processing, users agree that Meta may analyze the media files, including facial features and any other information contained in the photos.. Additionally, the functionality is limited, at least for now, to suggesting content for stories—with none of the files visible to others unless the user chooses to share them.
Meta has indicated that suggestions and file transfers can be disabled at any time, and uploaded images can also be deleted after a maximum of 30 days. However, some cases on forums like Reddit have uncovered situations where photos in the camera roll were edited by AI without users fully understanding that they had granted this access.
Meanwhile, the expansion of this feature to more countries will depend on local regulations. In Europe, due to strict data protection regulations, it is unlikely to be implemented in the near future. European authorities have already required Meta to enable options for users to opt out of AI data processing using specific forms.
Meta's progress with this test on Facebook shows the extent to which the highly-treated platforms They seek to reinvent the interaction with images stored on mobile phones.The ability to receive creative recommendations based on your personal gallery may be useful for those who frequently share content, but it also poses new challenges for technology companies in managing, storing, and using sensitive information.
