Social media companies use your data to train AI models.
LinkedIn users began complaining last week about such an example in posts on the site, finding their posts, images and profiles being used without permission.
Similar to other social media sites like Snapchat and Facebook, this option requires users to opt out, potentially without ever giving the app permission to use their data.
Users can prevent their data from being shared across most accounts in the future by enabling the “opt out” or “disable” feature in the privacy section of their account settings.
Social media companies use user profiles, posts and photos to train their AI models
It is common for companies to use information found online to train their AI tools.
While users regularly use these sites to share news about their latest achievements, events or social gatherings, this information has now become a hot target for companies looking to use the information to their own advantage.
Users are shocked that social media sites are not only using their data, but are using it automatically and without their consent.
When users noticed that LinkedIn had quietly changed its settings last week, other social media companies also came into the spotlight, including Snapchat, X and Meta.
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn surprised many users last week when it added the option to access user profiles to train AI models.
Currently, users can use these models to find a job or supplement their resume, but the company is now implementing this the other way around.
The company claims it notified users of the new AI data policy via emails, text messages, and banners on its website. However, users say they either didn’t have time to opt out of the feature or didn’t know it had been implemented.
The company and its partners reportedly use the data, messages and other content on users’ profiles to train AI models. LinkedIn does not disclose who these partners are, however.
To disable this feature, users need to go to their account settings page and under privacy look for the option “Data for improving generative AI.”
Then you should disable this option so that LinkedIn can no longer use your data in the future.
If you turn the option off, access will be blocked in the future. However, this will not delete any information that LinkedIn has already viewed up to that point.
“We believe our members should have control over their data, which is why we’re making an opt-out setting available for training AI models used to generate content in the countries where we do so,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
“We’ve always used some form of automation in LinkedIn products, and we’ve always made it clear that users have choices about how their data is used.
The reality is that many people are looking for help writing the first draft of their resume, writing a summary for their LinkedIn profile, and crafting messages to recruiters to seize that next career opportunity.
“Ultimately, people want a head start in their careers and our generational AI services provide that support.”
The future of Snapchat’s ‘My Selfie’ could reveal your likeness to third parties via the ‘My Selfie’ feature
Snapchat
Snapchat’s “My Selfie” feature could pose a problem for users in the future as it would see AI-generated advertising content being published that uses photos of people without asking for permission.
Currently, this feature allows users to convert selfies into AI images, which can then be used to create AI-generated ads that feature the user’s face.
A Snapchat spokesperson clarified that these ads are only shared with those involved and denied claims from a Reddit user who alleged that the company used their likeness to publicly generate an ad.
“I have no idea how they got pictures of me to place this ad,” the person said wrote on Reddit.
“Was this something I agreed to when I signed Snapchat’s TOS? They can just give my photos to advertisers to use in their ads?”
The spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the ‘My Selfie’ feature is just one part of the in-app experience that allows users to manage their own AI likeness, but claimed that the company ‘[does] I am not allowed to share ‘My Selfie’ with advertisers in any way.’
However, under Snapchat’s Terms of Service, users agree to grant business partners unrestricted access to their My Selfie images and the right to use, promote, broadcast, or create derivative works of the likeness generated through the feature.
The spokesperson claimed that Snapchat does not currently give third parties access to the AI-generated images, but its terms of service state that the company “reserves the right to use them for advertising in the future.”
“I can’t say whether people would be notified” before Snapchat released information, the spokesperson said, but added that she believes a pop-up notification would appear.
Users do need to give permission to take an AI image using the My Selfie feature, so their regularly shared photos aren’t shared with third parties.
People who have enabled the feature can go to Settings, click on their account, and tap the “My Selfie” option. They can then toggle off the “Show my selfie in ads” option to prevent their image from being used to create sponsored, AI-generated content.
Meta
Meta admits that it uses public posts from Facebook and Instagram users to train its AI model Llama.
The company uses messages, comments, audio and profile photos that may contain personal information such as the author’s name and contact information, the company said. Privacy Center.
Reportedly, private messages between friends and family members are not used to train Llamas.
But even if you don’t use any of Meta’s apps, the company has confirmed that it can still use your data contained in a photo of you posted by a friend to train the AI bot.
Meta has made it difficult to opt out of access to your data and does not provide an easy option to enable this in the privacy section.
Instead, users should go to the Settings page in their Instagram or Facebook app and open the Privacy section.
Click on the Meta AI page there and scroll down to the Take Control section. There you have the ability to manage the information the company collects from your profile.
DailyMail.com has contacted Meta for comment.
X
Similar to LinkedIn, X automatically opts users in so the company can use their data to train AI models. Users must opt out if they want the company to stop using their posts.
According to X’s Help CenterThe platform uses people’s messages to train its AI chatbot Grok, improving its “ability to provide accurate, relevant and engaging answers” and developing its “sense of humor and wit.”
The company did not notify users of the change, but did say it was publishing how the Grok chatbot uses data to respond to user queries.
“Grok’s access to public X messages in real time allows Grok to respond to user questions with up-to-date information and insights on a wide range of topics,” X says on its site.
To opt out of the model training, go to your account settings, click on the ‘Privacy and security’ section and select ‘Data sharing and personalization’.
There, click on ‘Grok’ and turn on the ‘Off’ option next to the Data Sharing section, which says ‘Allow your posts and your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and tuning’.
DailyMail.com has reached out to X for comment.