Meta might have access to your camera roll. How to check and update your privacy settings.

Some Meta users still have questions and anxiety about which photos Meta can access on their camera rolls and how these photos may be used for AI. But you can easily check your privacy settings — especially if you're confused about what exactly you agreed to share.

Back in June, Mashable reported on a notice that popped up on the Facebook app giving users the option to opt into "cloud processing to get creative ideas made for you from your camera roll." However, users may not have realized that accepting the setting meant agreeing to Meta's AI terms, which give Meta the right to "retain and use" any of your shared personal photos for AI-generated editing and curating.

In the privacy settings of the Facebook app, there are two toggles related to photo access: the one described above, and another setting that grants access to your camera roll for suggesting photos to post. This is a pre-existing setting that is automatically toggled on when you download the Facebook app. It doesn't have access to the content on your camera roll, only metadata like date, time, resolution, and number of photos.

When the story was first reported, Meta told TechCrunch that the AI feature (related to the new toggle setting) was a test, and that it could be turned off at any time. This is the feature that Meta says prompts a pop-up requesting permission to access your camera roll. The company also said the Meta AI suggestions are only visible to the user. But users have continued to raise awareness about the confusing privacy settings.

Some users, including Mashable's CJ Silva, said they never received a pop-up alert to provide consent for AI-related photo features. Others (myself included) noticed that the setting granting camera roll access for suggested photos was automatically toggled on, but the Meta AI setting was toggled off. I didn't receive a pop-up message asking me to opt in to the new feature. However, a Meta spokesperson confirmed that this feature is still a test and is being previewed to a limited number of users.

"These suggestions are opt-in only and only shown to you — unless you decide to share them — and can be turned off at any time," the spokesperson said about the feature and confusion over the new toggle. "Camera roll media may be used to improve these suggestions, but are not used to improve AI models in this test." 

Given Meta's track record of privacy issues, this test angered users who felt like Meta was spying on their personal photos without more explicit permission. Regardless, there's no better time to check how Meta is looking at your photos. Here's how to check your Meta photo access settings, and how to turn off the new feature if necessary.

1. Open the Facebook app and go to Settings & Privacy

You can find this by tapping on the Menu icon in the bottom right corner of the app.

2. Open Settings

Scroll down to find the Settings option.

3. Find the section called 'Camera roll sharing suggestions'

Open this section and you'll see the two features. One says, "get camera roll suggestions when you're browsing Facebook." The other says, "get creative ideas made for you by allowing camera roll cloud processing." The second setting is the one in question, and it allows Meta AI to edit and curate your shared photos. But both settings, when toggled on, grant Meta some access to your camera roll. The first setting is what essentially enables you to post content on Facebook.

4. Toggle the setting off

If either of these settings are toggled on, that means Meta has had access to your camera roll. You may have received a notice about this, but we wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't know what you were consenting to. Turn off these settings by tapping the toggle off.

UPDATE: Sep. 4, 2025, 1:00 p.m. EDT Editor's Note: This story has been updated with a statement from Meta and additional clarification about the new AI feature.