Facebook users noticed a new setting that allows parent company Meta to analyze and retain the photos on their phones. "Meta could be scanning your camera roll right now," reports ZDNet's Elyse Betters Picaro.
The problem? The toggles for the AI suggestion features, called "camera roll sharing suggestions," appear to be turned on for users who claim they haven't seen a pop-up from Facebook asking for permission to enable them. If you get that "cloud processing" pop-up and tap "Allow" on it, you'll agree to Meta's AI Terms of Service and permit your "media and facial features" to be analyzed by AI.
In no uncertain terms, add Picaro, you're "giving Meta the right to access and retain your camera roll images."
After 20 years of this sort of thing (and the evaporation of any political or legal bulwarks against it) it's past time to assume that Facebook is taking everything it can get and content to get to it any way they can. ZDNet provides instructions to depermit Facebook from scanning your images. I feel this tip misses the point of its own reporting, which is that Facebook dark-patterned its way to gaining that permission in the first place. If you care, delete the app.
See also: credit agency TransUnion was hacked but is apparently not disclosing what personal details have been exposed by the breach. Perhaps they're gaming the low likelihood of enforcement action by the Trump administration; in any case, unsafe at any speed.
