SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 18: Facebook is expanding a feature that allows Meta’s artificial intelligence to suggest creative edits to photos stored on users’ smartphones, even if those photos haven’t yet been posted. The feature, first tested earlier this year, is now rolling out to all Facebook users in the United States and Canada, the company announced Friday.

Once enabled, the tool uses AI to propose enhancements such as image restyling, themed birthday collages, and video recaps, offering users the option to share the edited versions directly to Facebook’s Feed or Stories. To activate the feature, users must opt in by granting permission for “cloud processing” via a pop-up within the app.

According to Meta, the feature uploads images from users’ local devices to Meta’s cloud infrastructure on an ongoing basis, allowing AI systems to analyze and generate personalized edit suggestions. The company said media files accessed for this purpose will not be used for ad targeting or AI model training unless users explicitly choose to edit or share the AI-generated content.

Despite these assurances, Facebook’s AI Terms of Service state that by agreeing to the cloud processing feature, users consent to having their images and facial features analyzed. The terms allow Meta to “summarize image contents, modify images, and generate new content based on the image.”

The AI draws on metadata such as timestamps and the presence of people or objects in the photos to tailor suggestions, effectively granting Meta deeper insight into users’ relationships, social behaviors, and daily lives.

Some experts note that by tapping into users’ unposted images, Meta could gain a competitive advantage in the fast-growing AI space. Access to such data not only provides valuable behavioral insights but may also inform development of new AI-powered tools and user experiences.

Users can disable the feature at any time. Settings are located under the Preferences section in the Facebook app, where two toggles appear under “Camera roll sharing suggestions.” The first allows Facebook to propose image suggestions while browsing the app. The second controls the “cloud processing” option, which enables the AI to generate custom content using the device’s camera roll.

Meta has been actively incorporating AI into its ecosystem. The company previously announced it would train its image recognition models using publicly shared content from Facebook and Instagram, with European Union users given until May 27, 2025, to opt out. Meta also collects image data from users of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which analyze images upon request.

The latest rollout marks another step in Meta’s strategy to embed AI deeply into its social platforms, while raising fresh questions about privacy and data use in the age of generative artificial intelligence.