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Key takeaways
- Meta's new opt-in Facebook feature scans your entire camera roll.
- Your photos will power AI suggestions and train Meta's AI if shared.
- You can turn the feature off anytime in Facebook settings.
Meta could be analyzing and retaining photos from your phone's camera roll -- even ones you haven't uploaded to Facebook -- through a controversial feature now available to all Facebook users in the US and Canada, if they choose to opt in.
If you see a "cloud processing" pop-up on Facebook and tap Allow, you're agreeing to Meta's AI Terms of Service and permitting your "media and facial features" to be analyzed by Meta's AI. Once enabled, Facebook continuously uploads photos from your camera roll to Meta's cloud to surface "hidden gems" and suggest creative edits or collages.
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In August, Facebook users began noticing new toggles buried in their app settings that allow Meta to access their camera roll for AI-powered suggestions, including "personalized creative ideas, like travel highlights and collages." But some said they didn't remember agreeing to the feature, raising serious privacy concerns, especially for those who wouldn't knowingly opt in.
The feature, which was in testing last summer, is now rolling out for all users to opt in. If you agree, Facebook will use images from your camera roll -- not just the ones you've posted -- to suggest collages, themed albums, recap posts, or AI-restyled versions of your photos. It draws on data like dates, locations, and the presence of people or objects to create suggestions, which are visible only to you unless you choose to share them. These may appear in Stories, Feed, or Memories.
's editorial director found Meta's "camera roll sharing suggestions" feature enabled without her knowledge. I also found it turned on in my Facebook app, though I vaguely recall seeing a pop-up about the feature and think I quickly dismissed 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.
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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.
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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 Facebook 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.
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Definitely go to Facebook's support hub if you need more help. You basically have 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 available?
Meta says the feature has rolled out in the US and Canada and remains opt-in. It is not available in Illinois or Texas due to those states' privacy laws.
Will Meta train its AI on my camera roll photos?
Meta says the camera roll media uploaded by this feature to make suggestions won't be used to improve AI at Meta unless you edit the suggestions with its AI tools or publish those suggestions to Facebook.
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 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.
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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.
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?
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Editor's note: This article was last updated on Oct. 20, 2025, to include the official rollout of Facebook's opt-in camera roll feature in the US and Canada and to clarify Meta's statement about when camera roll media may be used to improve AI. It was previously updated on Sept. 2, to clarify steps for Android users, and on Aug. 24 to confirm that Meta's camera roll sharing suggestions are not turned on by default. Still, some users say they never knowingly agreed and are finding the features enabled in their settings.
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