Facebook has started asking users to grant access to their phone’s photo galleries so the app can offer AI-based ideas for editing and redesigning personal photos. This includes images people haven’t yet posted on the platform.
This request usually pops up when people are about to post a new Story. At that point, the app shows a screen that invites users to switch on something called cloud processing. If they agree, Facebook begins pulling photos directly from the phone’s camera roll to process them in its own systems.
Image: Seasons of Jason
Once those photos are in place, the app can suggest different types of edits. These could be collages, themed collections, AI restyles, or photo highlights. It uses the timing, location, and patterns within the gallery to figure out what might work.
Facebook says these suggestions stay private unless someone decides to post them. It also says the photos aren’t being used for advertising.
But saying yes to this option means agreeing to Meta’s AI terms. These terms give the company permission to scan photos using artificial intelligence. This includes the people in them, the objects, the dates, details that help the app build new ideas.
For Meta, features like this could offer a big advantage. Gaining access to personal photos, including ones that haven’t been shared, could push its AI systems further ahead. It’s a quiet shift, but it moves beyond public posts and taps into private photo galleries.
The pop-ups that ask for permission don’t always explain things clearly. Many people may agree without fully understanding what’s involved.
Some Facebook users have already come across this photo suggestion feature and have noticed how it works. In one example, Facebook used Meta’s AI to automatically restyle an old photo into an anime version. The original image had already been shared on Facebook, but the automatic AI transformation caught the user by surprise.
Some people have been looking for ways to turn this off. One user, for example, found that the setting was hidden deep in the app. It sits under Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions in the preferences. On that page, there are two switches. One controls whether Facebook can suggest photos while someone is browsing. The other handles cloud processing, which gives the app the ability to create AI-generated versions of photos stored on the phone. This second option is the one that controls whether Facebook’s system can process those images.
The AI terms Meta uses have been active since June 2024. The company hasn’t made old versions of the terms easy to find. Earlier copies aren’t available on the Wayback Machine either.
This tool goes further than what Meta had previously shared. The company’s earlier announcements focused on using public posts and comments to train AI. With this feature, Meta steps into a space where private photos are involved. In Europe, people had until May 2025 to say no to this kind of AI use.
Meta describes the feature as a test. It’s currently running in the United States and Canada. The company says the photo suggestions are private unless someone chooses to share them. It also says that, in this test, photos from the camera roll aren’t being used to improve its wider AI models, though they may help improve the suggestions Facebook offers.
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• DeepSeek Faces Regulatory Action in Germany for Not Meeting European Data Protection Standards
• Gemini, ChatGPT, DeepSeek: The Biggest AI Data Collectors Revealed
• The Hidden Cost of Free AI Tools: Your Behavior, Habits, and Identity
This request usually pops up when people are about to post a new Story. At that point, the app shows a screen that invites users to switch on something called cloud processing. If they agree, Facebook begins pulling photos directly from the phone’s camera roll to process them in its own systems.
Image: Seasons of Jason
Once those photos are in place, the app can suggest different types of edits. These could be collages, themed collections, AI restyles, or photo highlights. It uses the timing, location, and patterns within the gallery to figure out what might work.
Facebook says these suggestions stay private unless someone decides to post them. It also says the photos aren’t being used for advertising.
But saying yes to this option means agreeing to Meta’s AI terms. These terms give the company permission to scan photos using artificial intelligence. This includes the people in them, the objects, the dates, details that help the app build new ideas.
For Meta, features like this could offer a big advantage. Gaining access to personal photos, including ones that haven’t been shared, could push its AI systems further ahead. It’s a quiet shift, but it moves beyond public posts and taps into private photo galleries.
The pop-ups that ask for permission don’t always explain things clearly. Many people may agree without fully understanding what’s involved.
Some Facebook users have already come across this photo suggestion feature and have noticed how it works. In one example, Facebook used Meta’s AI to automatically restyle an old photo into an anime version. The original image had already been shared on Facebook, but the automatic AI transformation caught the user by surprise.
Some people have been looking for ways to turn this off. One user, for example, found that the setting was hidden deep in the app. It sits under Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions in the preferences. On that page, there are two switches. One controls whether Facebook can suggest photos while someone is browsing. The other handles cloud processing, which gives the app the ability to create AI-generated versions of photos stored on the phone. This second option is the one that controls whether Facebook’s system can process those images.
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The AI terms Meta uses have been active since June 2024. The company hasn’t made old versions of the terms easy to find. Earlier copies aren’t available on the Wayback Machine either.
This tool goes further than what Meta had previously shared. The company’s earlier announcements focused on using public posts and comments to train AI. With this feature, Meta steps into a space where private photos are involved. In Europe, people had until May 2025 to say no to this kind of AI use.
Meta describes the feature as a test. It’s currently running in the United States and Canada. The company says the photo suggestions are private unless someone chooses to share them. It also says that, in this test, photos from the camera roll aren’t being used to improve its wider AI models, though they may help improve the suggestions Facebook offers.
Read next:
• DeepSeek Faces Regulatory Action in Germany for Not Meeting European Data Protection Standards
• Gemini, ChatGPT, DeepSeek: The Biggest AI Data Collectors Revealed
• The Hidden Cost of Free AI Tools: Your Behavior, Habits, and Identity