Meta rolls out opt-in AI camera-roll suggestions in US & Canada

Meta has begun offering a new Facebook feature in the United States and Canada that scans users’ phone photo libraries (with permission) to surface AI-powered collages, recaps and simple edits. The tool is designed to help people find “hidden gems”—for example, creating a vacation collage or a graduation recap—by automatically suggesting shareable ideas based on time, location and themes.

The feature is strictly opt-in. If you grant permission, Facebook will select media from your camera roll and upload it to Meta’s cloud on an ongoing basis to generate suggestions. According to Meta, those suggestions are private to you until you choose to share them in Stories or Feed.

• How it works: After you opt in, Facebook scans your library and offers AI-generated suggestions such as collages, recaps or enhanced edits.
• Privacy & training: Meta says it will not train its models on your camera roll unless you choose to edit that media with its AI tools or share the results. However, media may be used for model training if you use the AI editing or share content created with it.
• Control: The feature can be turned off later via Facebook’s camera roll settings if you change your mind.
• Availability: Live now in the US and Canada, with testing planned for other countries soon.

From a wider perspective, this launch highlights two things: the convenience of automated creativity—making it easier to surface and polish photos—and the ongoing tension around AI training data and user privacy. Meta emphasizes that the suggested content is private until shared and that it won’t use camera-roll media for ad targeting, but users who interact with the AI tools should be aware their media might be used to improve models.

If you prefer not to participate, you can simply ignore the prompt or decline permission. For people who try it, the feature aims to save time and surface memorable moments, though some may be uncomfortable with the trade-off involved in letting a platform access and process personal photos.

Read the original report for more detail: Engadget — Facebook’s latest AI feature can scan your phone’s camera roll.

Discussion: Will you try Facebook’s camera-roll suggestions, or is this a privacy line you won’t cross?