Meta has removed a controversial artificial intelligence feature that allowed users to modify photos from public Instagram accounts, days after its launch drew widespread criticism over privacy concerns.

The company announced on Friday that it had discontinued the feature, admitting it had “missed the mark.” The tool was introduced earlier this week as part of a broader rollout of AI capabilities alongside Muse Image, a new AI image generator developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s dedicated AI division.

The feature enabled users to generate AI images by referencing public Instagram accounts through an @-mention. However, it did not notify account holders when their publicly available photos were used as inputs, prompting immediate backlash from users and privacy advocates.

In a blog post published Friday, Meta confirmed it had withdrawn the feature following the criticism.

“Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way,” the company posted on its blog. “We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”

The decision was first reported by Puck News founding partner Dylan Byers.

Since AI was integrated into social media platforms, the technology has frequently been misused to create manipulated images, including non-consensual nude depictions of female celebrities. Although platforms have introduced safeguards to curb such abuse, critics say those measures have often proven inadequate.