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's key takeaways
- Meta could be scanning your camera roll right now.
- It's using your photos to provide AI-powered suggestions.
- Check Facebook settings to turn off the features.
Meta could be analyzing and retaining your phone's photos without you realizing it.
Some Facebook users have noticed that, deep within their app settings, toggles are switched on that allow Meta to access their camera roll to offer AI-powered suggestions, including "personalized creative ideas, like travel highlights and collages" -- and they don't remember agreeing to this .
CNET: No, your iPhone isn't listening to you. Here's what's really happening
The problem? This feature allows Meta to access and retain your camera roll images, and that could raise serious privacy concerns, especially for users who wouldn't otherwise knowingly opt in.
If you do get Meta's "cloud processing" pop-up announcing this feature 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.
Facebook will then use your camera roll images -- including the dates on them and the presence of people or objects -- to suggest collages, themed albums, recap posts, or AI restyled versions of your pictures. These AI suggestions are only visible to you unless you choose to share them, and Meta says the media won't be used for ad targeting.
Also: How to protect your privacy from Facebook - and what doesn't work
's editorial director found Meta's camera roll sharing suggestions enabled in her Facebook app without her knowledge. I also noticed they were enabled for me, although I vaguely recall seeing a pop-up from Facebook about the new features a few weeks ago. I think I dismissed it quickly, and I can't remember whether I tapped Allow or Don't allow on it.
How to stop Facebook from scanning your camera roll
Meta said its camera roll sharing suggestions are not enabled by default. If you're worried you dismissed Facebook's pop-up, or unknowingly opted in, and gave access to your camera roll, here's how to check and turn it off.
1. Open the Facebook app
The settings you'll want to check can be found in the Facebook mobile app.
- Grab your iPhone or Android phone.
- Open the Facebook app. You'll need to be signed into your account.
2. Go to the Menu > Settings and Privacy
Facebook hides most of its settings in the menu -- the three-line hamburger icon in the bottom corner of the app.
- Tap the Menu icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Once the menu opens, look for Settings and Privacy with a gear icon.
3. Select Settings
Once you find and tap Privacy and Settings to expand the dropdown options, tap Settings again.
- Under Settings and Privacy, tap Settings.
- Now, scroll down and look for "Camera roll sharing suggestions."
4. Go to Camera roll sharing suggestions
Meta placed the toggles that grant it access to your camera roll under the "Camera roll sharing suggestions" setting. You'll need to go there to see if they're on and, if so, switch them off.
- Tap the option labeled "Camera roll sharing suggestions."
- This will open a preference page with a couple of toggles.
5. Turn off both toggles
Once you're inside the camera roll sharing suggestions page, notice the two separate switches. If they're blue and the toggle circle is pushed to the right, they're on -- meaning Meta is already processing and retaining your phone's photos. Turn them off so the app can't automatically upload and analyze your camera roll.
- Find the option labeled "Get camera roll suggestions when you're browsing Facebook." If the switch is on (blue), tap it once to turn it off (gray). This will stop Facebook from using basic camera roll data, such as which videos you've favorited and when photos were taken, to suggest sharing media you haven't yet uploaded.
Find the option labeled "Get creative ideas made for you by allowing camera roll cloud processing." If the switch is on (blue), tap it once to turn it off (gray). This will stop Facebook from continuously uploading media from your camera roll -- and using details like time, location, themes, and the presence of people or objects -- to generate personalized creative ideas such as recaps and AI restylings.
FAQs
These steps don't work for me. Why?
The steps above, which I've verified using the Faebook app for iPhone, may vary on Android devices.
Samsung users, for instance, must do the following: Open Facebook > Go to Profile/Menu > Tap the gear icon in the upper right > Scroll down to "Camera roll sharing suggestions" and select it > You'll see the two camera roll sharing toggles.
Definitely go to Facebook's support hub if you need more help. You basically got to find the Settings and privacy menu in the Facebook mobile app, and from there, you can find "Camera roll sharing suggestions" and disable the options.
Why is Facebook cloud-processing my device's camera roll?
Meta is uploading and analyzing your camera roll photos and videos, even ones you haven't posted, in its cloud in order to generate AI-powered suggestions like collages, monthly recaps, themed albums, or AI-restyled versions of your images.
Where is this feature being tested?
Meta has confirmed the feature is a test, saying, "We're exploring ways to make content sharing easier for people on Facebook by testing suggestions of ready-to-share and curated content from a person's camera roll."
The test is currently available in the US and Canada, but it's not available in Illinois or Texas due to those states' privacy laws.
Did Facebook ask for my consent before turning this on?
Meta is showing a pop-up asking users if they want to enable cloud processing, but some users claim they haven't seen it. Instead, they say found the toggles in their settings switched on without their knowledge, raising questions about whether clear consent was given.
I've asked several people to check whether camera roll sharing suggestions were enabled in their Facebook app. Besides myself and 's editorial director, my partner, in-laws, and many friends all found the options turned on without their knowledge. Many users have also reported on social media and in forum threads, like this one on Y Combinator , that the settings were enabled for them.
Some of these people recalled seeing a consent pop-up from Facebook, while others did not. But nearly everyone said they did not realize they were allowing access to their camera roll data. They also said they would not have allowed it if they had known.
Can I remove my photos once they've been uploaded?
's sister site, CNET, reports that Meta pulls from your newer pictures (roughly the last 30 days) and if you disable the feature, your uploaded photos will be deleted after 30 days. The only way to confirm is by downloading your Facebook account data.
Why is this a potential privacy issue?
It expands Meta's reach beyond the content you've chosen to upload and share online -- into your private, unposted photos and videos. For many, that's a major red flag and a line they're not comfortable crossing, understandably so.
Also: What Zuckerberg's 'personal superintelligence' sales pitch leaves out
Even if Meta is asking for consent to access your camera roll in order to analyze your phone's photos and provide AI-powered suggestions, the company could have done a better job of being clear and explicit about what it's trying to do.
How many users, like me, simply dismissed the consent pop-up without fully realizing what they'd just agreed to?
Editor's note: This article was last updated on Sept. 2, 2025, to clarify steps for Android users. It was also updated on Aug. 24 to confirm that Meta's camera roll sharing suggestions are not turned on by default and are entirely opt-in. Still, some users say they never knowingly agreed and are finding the features enabled in their settings.
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