Social Media Platforms Are Using Your Content for AI. What to do?
Are social media platforms using your content for artificial intelligence? The answer is simple – yes! OpenAI has stated that creating ChatGPT relied on using copyrighted material, and LinkedIn leverages user resumes to enhance its AI models. Snapchat has revealed that if you use certain AI features, your face may appear in ads. LinkedIn now allows users to opt out of having their site content used to train Microsoft’s AI systems.
More and more, social media posts, including images, are being utilized by companies to power their AI systems. Often without users’ awareness. Social platforms offer valuable data to companies running AI models, as these posts reflect conversational language, human slang, and real-time events, which are useful for training chatbots. However, many users might not appreciate their personal posts, photos, or even selfies being used for corporate profit.
Various platforms offer different ways to opt out of AI data usage, but posting public content online means it could still be used by third parties without your knowledge. Here’s how some major social media platforms handle user data for AI training. And what you can do to limit its use:
Meta
Meta has used public content from Facebook and Instagram to train its AI systems, including posts, comments, and profile pictures. Users who want to prevent this must set their accounts to private. Meta clarifies that private messages are not used for AI training.
Remember, even if you’re not using Meta services, they may still utilize data about you, such as a photo uploaded by a friend, to improve their technology.
LinkedIn now lets users choose whether their data can be used for generative AI models. Although it aims to remove personal data from training sets, opting out does not reverse any previous AI training that included user data. Users can go to “Settings & Privacy,” select “Data Privacy,” then click on “Data for Generative AI Improvement” and toggle off the option.
X (formerly Twitter)
Elon Musk’s X platform uses posts and conversations with its chatbot Grok for AI training. X users can opt out via “Settings” > “Privacy and Safety” > “Data Sharing and Personalization”. Here they can uncheck the box under “Grok.” Private accounts are also exempt from being used to train AI.
Snapchat
Snapchat’s “My Selfie” feature lets users generate AI images from their selfies. However, using this feature may allow Snapchat and advertisers to use users’ faces in AI-generated ads. Users who opt-in can disable this by going to “Settings”. Than choose “My Account” > “My Selfie” and toggling off “See My Selfie in Ads.”
Reddit users grant the platform a license to use public posts for AI training. While Reddit has partnered with companies like Google and OpenAI, users cannot opt out of having public content shared. Remember, private messages and posts in private communities, however, are not included.
Social Media Platforms Are Using Your Content – Summary.
Modern social media platforms are increasingly using user-generated content such as posts, photos, and interactions – to train their artificial intelligence systems. Companies like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, Reddit, and Meta collect this data to improve their AI models, often without users being fully aware. While some platforms provide an option to opt out of this data usage, sharing content publicly online always carries the risk that it could be accessed and used by third parties. Users should stay informed about how their content might be utilized. And platforms must work towards greater transparency regarding data protection and how it’s employed for AI development.
Conclusion:
As AI plays a growing role in social media, concerns about privacy and ethical data usage are becoming more prominent. While some platforms offer ways to limit data access, users need to remain cautious when sharing content publicly, knowing that achieving full control over their data may be challenging. As AI continues to become more prevalent, the demand for clear privacy policies and responsible data usage by tech companies will only increase.
