Who Can Opt Out of Meta’s Synthetic Data Training (and Who Can’t)
Starting June 26, Meta will reportedly update its privacy policy to allow its AI to learn from your data. The news began spreading on social media after Meta sent emails and notifications to users in the UK and EU to inform them of the change, as well as give them the opportunity to opt out of data collection. One UK user named Philip Bloom publicly shared a notice warning everyone of the upcoming changes, which apparently will also affect Instagram users.
These changeswill give Meta permission to use your information and personal content from Meta-related services to train its AI . This means that things like public posts on Facebook, published photos and captions on Instagram, and messages to Meta’s AI chatbots will all be fair game for the social media giant to use in training its big language model and other artificial intelligence tools.
Meta says that private messages will not be included in training data, and in its emails and notices, the company emphasizes that every user (in a protected region) has the “right to object” to the use of their data. Once the new policy takes effect, it will automatically begin extracting information from affected content types. To prevent the company from removing your content, you can try to opt out now by going to this Facebook support page . Please be aware that this page will only load if you are in the EU, UK or one of the other countries where Meta is required to offer an opt-out by law.
If you’re in the US or other locations, you may be able to opt-out of some third-party data usage , although as with anything like this, whether Meta chooses to honor your opt-out is a different matter entirely. For this reason, I strongly recommend providing as much detail as possible in your application to avoid the possibility of your denial being rejected.
How to opt-out of sharing your data with Meta’s AI (EU and UK only)
If you are in the EU, UK, or any other place where data laws may be strict enough for Meta to offer an opt-out, please click on the support page linked above, then fill out the form and submit it. You will need to select your country and explain the reason for refusal in the text field, and below you can provide additional information if you wish.
You should receive a response as to whether Meta will honor your request to opt-out of using your data. Be prepared for a fight – some users are reporting that their requests are being rejected , although in countries protected by EU legislation such as GDPR, Meta should honor your request.
There are also some caveats to consider. Although the opt-out applies to you, there is no guarantee that your posts will be affected if they are shared by friends or family members who have not opted out of using AI training data. So, make sure that any household that has Facebook or other meta services also opts out if they have the option.
This move is actually not all that surprising given that Meta is gradually moving towards offering more artificial intelligence on its platforms. Thus, the use of user data, especially in meta-services, was always a likely outcome. There’s too much data out there for the company to discard it as training material for its various AI projects.
Unfortunately, Fast Company and Business Insider report that Meta has already begun mining user data in the US. As more companies turn to AI services, it becomes increasingly important to carefully read all terms and conditions in user agreements to ensure they are not violated. Any hidden claims that give the company access to your data for AI training purposes.