Instagram begins use of AI interactions to personalise experiences and ads

Instagram included AI at Meta as a Meta Product to which its privacy policy now applies. The platform will collect information from a user’s interactions with AI at Meta, and information provided by others about a user to AI at Meta, including messages and content that the user may have shared. In the revised policy, information collected across Products will be used to personalise features, content, and ads in AI at Meta, among other Meta Products. The information will also be shared with other Meta Companies to personalise features and integrations. 

Furthermore, interactions with AI at Meta and related metadata such as content and messages will be used for purposes such as personalising and improving Meta Products, promoting safety, integrity, and security, providing measurement, analytics, and business services, personalising ads on Meta Audience Network, undertaking research for social good, and sharing information with others, including law enforcement. 

Information collected from user activities on Meta products including posts, comments, audio etc, interactions with AI at Meta, and information from partners, vendors, and third parties, will all be used for the newly introduced purpose of developing and improving AI at Meta. Instagram removed the clarification that it will not share personally identifying information, such as username, unless included in messages to the AIs, with third-parties.

Besides the updates in use of data from AI at Meta, Instagram has also expanded information collection on users’ connections and interactions both on and off Meta Products, and on the online or in person use of third party products and services. The policy no longer provides details of information used to decide which ads and commercial content to show. The policy clarifies that search engines and other third parties use public content about a user (name, username, profile picture, etc.) according to their own terms and policies, not Meta’s.

Meta is among the several major platforms that have introduced updates related to AI data use, including Google, LinkedIn, and Open AI. Given this shift, researchers have highlighted concerns such as privacy risks, manipulation using vulnerabilities, and a lack of users’ control over their data and experience on platforms.