Did you know? Meta will use Facebook and Instagram posts to train its AI and get started from next June 26, in just a few weeks. So the question is, what is it: are you a user of any of these social networks? Feel like giving your data to a company known for its poor privacy practices?

I’ll let my intuition guide me and consider that if you answered yes to the first question, you answered no to the second. And if I’m wrong, stop reading this entry and move on to something else, we have some very interesting content that you must have missed. Now, if I was right, keep reading and discovering how to prevent Meta, i.e. Facebook and Instagram, from using your data to train their AIwhich is very simple.

This is of course the exclusive prerogative of the European Union; In fact, we just learned that Meta won’t be training its AI with data from EU citizens, and as a result, its AI services won’t reach the common European space at the moment. Be that as it may, prevention is better than cure, and depending on where you are, you may also benefit from the “right to object”, which is what it’s all about.

How to prevent Instagram from using your data to train its AI

From mobile: go to your profile and enter Settings application (menu with three bars at the top right), enter the section «Information» (all the way down), in «Privacy Policy and click the link the right to objectscroll down and fill in the information they ask for: choose your country of residence, enter your email address (it’s better if it’s the same one you signed up for the service from) and explain why you refuse to allow them to use your data.

Really, you have to justify your decision… with what message? There are many examples on the Internet, but you can do it in your own words. If you don’t feel like doing the job, the folks at Metricool offer this simple sentence:

| I don’t want my account information to be used to train AI Meta, as this is considered a lack of privacy for my data.

You can add a legal warning if you want:

| It violates Article 18 of the Spanish Constitution on the right to privacy and self-image.

Click submit and once you’ve verified your email address (they’ll send you a code) you’re done. You should soon receive a response from Meta accepting the request.

If you want to do it on a PC via a web browser, click this link (you must be logged in to the service).

How to stop Facebook from using your data to train its AI

Enter from your mobile Settings application (menu with three bars at the top right), enter the section «Settings and Privacy > Settings»go down until you reach “Community norms and legal principles”go to Privacy Policy and click the link the right to objectscroll down and fill in the information they ask for: choose your country of residence, enter your email address (it’s better if it’s the same one you signed up for the service from) and explain why you refuse to let them use your data.

If you want to do it on a PC via a web browser, click this link (you must be logged in to the service).

As you can see, it’s pretty much the same as on Instagram, and from now on it’s exactly the same, so it’s copy and paste. In both cases, the message you receive (to the same email account you entered) is: verified

Hello:

We have reviewed the request and accept your objection. This means that we will apply your request from now on.

For more details on generative artificial intelligence and our privacy efforts in this new space, please see the details in the Privacy Center.

And there is no more. Or when? What about WhatsApp, which also owns Meta? He is not entering this game, at least not yet. In addition, the data in WhatsApp is in many cases end-to-end encrypted and is not public, as it is on Facebook and Instagram, where mainly audiovisual content is shared, which is nowadays preferred as a source of artificial intelligence, which is not the only one.

The whatEven with these steps, you have to trust that the Meta will deliver on what it says. And it is well proven that they are not trustworthy… But lose all hope because even if you do all this… everyone who has interacted with you, who has posted photos or videos of you appearing on their networks. .. There is no salvation, but if the little that can be done is not done…