How to Restrict Who Can Create Your Deepfakes on Sora

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Sora, OpenAI’s TikTok for AI , is currently the most popular free app in the iOS App Store . The app allows users to create hyper-realistic short videos based on simple AI cues. If you find your TikTok or Instagram feeds overflowing with human-generated posts, Sora offers a feed devoid of any artificial content: everything you see, from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman grilling Pikachu to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches about Xbox Game Pass , is completely fabricated and generated by Sora’s video model. As the kids say, we’re so cooked.

The implications are depressing, terrifying, and, in this tech editor’s opinion, nauseating. But it’s not just the realism of these videos that bothers me; I’m also concerned about the app’s “cameo” feature, which allows you to insert real people into one of these artificially generated figures. For example, if you request a video of someone skateboarding on a skyscraper, Sora isn’t required to generate a fake person. Instead, you can ask it to add yourself to the video. If you have friends on the platform, you can choose one of them to be the skateboarder. The same goes for any account that has posted their own cameo settings—that’s why we’ve seen so many crazy videos featuring Altman and other OpenAI executives.

OpenAI markets Cameo as a fun way to connect and share with friends. I and others like me see it as a deepfake machine, capable of creating videos of anyone doing almost anything. OpenAI, of course, disagrees. The company promises to have “guardrails” in place to prevent the creation of malicious or offensive videos, as well as the misuse of other people’s likenesses. To create a Cameo, you need to film yourself talking, which gives the video model the information it needs to include you in these short clips. Ideally, you control your Cameos: if you don’t want others to create videos of you, you can block them from being created. If you don’t like a video someone has made of you, you can ask OpenAI to remove it from Sora, even if you didn’t create it.

Despite OpenAI’s assurances, I’m not sure the situation will quickly become dire. However, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the settings that allow you to control how your image is used (or not used) in Sora.

Prevent other Sora users from adding you to cameos

These settings only apply after you set up Cameo . If you only use the app for watching videos, you won’t need to adjust any settings. However, if you’ve created Cameo, you can limit its use with a few controls.

To find Cameo settings, open Sora, tap your profile icon in the lower right corner, then tap the menu button with two lines in the upper right corner and select “Cameo Rules.” Here, you can specify who can use your Cameo by choosing one of the following options:

• Only Me : Other Sora users will not be able to use your cameo.

• People I Approve : Select specific Sora users who can use your cameo.

• Reciprocal Links : Anyone you follow and who follows you can use your cameo.

• Everyone : Anyone on the platform can use your cameo. (I strongly recommend not using this option.)

Please note that changing these settings will only apply to future videos. If you initially allowed your Cameo video to be used by third-party users or everyone, but then switched to approved users or even just yourself, all previous videos made with your Cameo video will remain on the platform.

You also have some control over how your cameos are used, as announced by Bill Peebles, head of Sora, in the X program. Return to the cameo settings, select “Cameo Settings,” and then “Restrictions.” Here, you can set any restrictions that will prevent other users from using your cameos. For example, you can prevent people from using you in political videos or saying certain words or phrases.

Delete other people’s videos that feature your cameo.

If you see a video someone made using your Cameo and no longer want it on the platform, you can request that OpenAI remove it. To do this, open the video and select “Report.” From there, you can request removal. OpenAI states that it will “review and take action” if a video using your Cameo “contradicts your settings or policies.” This is a bit too vague in my opinion, but it’s good to know such a system exists if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Delete your Sora account to delete all videos featuring your cameo.

There’s also a more radical option: deleting your Sora account entirely. OpenAI states that any videos using cameos linked to a deleted account will also be removed from the platform. They’re much more specific here, so I think this is the best way to ensure your cameos don’t spread across Sora in ways you don’t want.

There are still many potential risks.

It’s great that OpenAI allows users to use their image in Sora’s videos, but in my opinion, it’s not enough. OpenAI has created a tool that allows other users to easily add you to AI-generated videos . The risk of abuse is too great to treat this product as anything other than a deepfake ready for disaster.

OpenAI claims you can request removal of any video featuring your cameo, but what if OpenAI doesn’t deem the video a violation of your rules or settings? Even more alarming, what happens if someone deletes that Sora video and posts it to TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube? Will OpenAI track down every company that posted the video and demand its removal? Or will your face, your voice, your entire image be posted on social media in a video that isn’t even real? OpenAI requires you to record yourself before creating a cameo, but what if someone uses existing videos of you to create an illegal cameo without your permission? All the cameo restrictions and settings in the world won’t let you control what happens to those videos. And while OpenAI calls its initial approach to Sora generations “conservative,” I’ve already seen some wild things on this platform. If you think users won’t find ways to trick AI into creating offensive, disgusting, or otherwise negative videos of you, think again.

I don’t know what will happen next, but I do know one thing: I will never use the cameo feature on Sora, and I advise you to do the same. If you already do, limit the settings as much as possible.

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