How to Keep Meta AI From Using Your Instagram Data for Training

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Learn how to stop Meta AI from using your Insta data

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: November 4, 2024 Fact Checked

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United States

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Europe

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Elsewhere

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Turning Off Meta AI Chat

Are you trying to opt out of Meta AI on Instagram? If you live in Europe, you can do this easily by going into Instagram's settings. However, in the US, there's no way of opting out. In this article, we'll go over how US Instagram users can hide their data from Meta AI, how European users can ensure their data isn't used to train Meta AI, and what users in other parts of the world can do to see if they can opt out as well.

How to Opt Out of Instagram's Meta AI

You cannot opt out of Meta AI if you live in the US. The only way to protect your data is to make your profile private. In Europe, open Instagram's settings, go to the privacy policy, and fill out the opt-out form.

Section 1 of 4:

United States

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Since the US doesn't have strict data protection laws like the EU and the UK, Instagram will not let you opt out of Meta AI. According to Meta's generative AI policy, Meta can use any publicly posted information (including posts and photos) to train Meta AI.^{[1]
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There are a few workarounds to keep your information away from Meta AI. These workarounds are as follows:
- The best way to ensure your data won't be used to train Meta AI is to set your profile to private.^{[2]
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  Research source} The downsides to this are that your past public data is still fair game, and if someone shares your data publicly, it can be used by Meta AI.
- Another workaround that may or may not work is to submit a Data Subject Rights form to Meta. To do this, go to this form and fill it out with as much information as you can or want to provide. Filling out this form may or may not help, as Facebook uses local jurisdiction to make a decision for each request, and your data isn't protected as strictly in the US.

Section 2 of 4:

Europe

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You can find this in the app by going to Settings > About > Privacy policy. You can also find it by clicking here.
In the section where Meta asks why their data processing affects you, write that you are exercising your right under data protection laws to object.^{[3]
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You should get an email a few moments after submitting the form to confirm that your request was successful.

Section 3 of 4:

Elsewhere

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Check the privacy center on the Instagram app. Each country or region will have different data protection laws. To see if you are able to opt out of Meta AI on Instagram where you live, go to the privacy center in the Instagram app to see if you're eligible to object to your data being scraped for AI.
- To get to the privacy center, go to your profile, tap the three-line button in the upper-right corner, then scroll down to find Privacy Center.
- If you cannot opt out of Meta AI, consider following the workarounds above to keep your data away from Meta AI.

Section 4 of 4:

Turning Off Meta AI Chat

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The Meta AI chatbot cannot be disabled from the search bar. However, you can mute the Meta AI chatbot so it's less annoying when you're using Instagram. To disable the Meta AI chatbot, follow these steps:^{[4]
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- Tap the magnifying glass button at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the search bar, where you'll see a blue circle icon.
- Tap the blue arrow button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Tap the white "i" icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Select Mute.
- Toggle on Mute messages.
- Choose Until I change it to mute the Meta AI chatbot indefinitely.