Facebook Feature Scans Camera Roll: Protect Your Privacy
Facebook Feature Scans Camera Roll: Facebook has recently launched a new feature in its testing phase that can scan photos on users’ phone camera rolls without explicit permission. This feature becomes active particularly when a user tries to create a new story or post on Facebook and is presented as a “Cloud Processing” option. The company claims that when activated, photos from the past 30 days are uploaded to the cloud, where AI-based scanning takes place to provide users with travel highlights, collages, photo albums, and other creative suggestions. However, this move has raised serious privacy concerns, as many users report that the feature sometimes turns on automatically without their opt-in, giving Facebook increased access to their private photos. Meta (Facebook’s parent company) asserts that these photos are not used for advertising and are deleted from the cloud after 30 days.
How the Feature Works
This new Facebook feature allows users to give access to their phone’s camera roll for Facebook’s cloud processing tool. Once a user opts in, Meta uploads their photos to the cloud and uses AI to analyze dates, people, and objects in the images, offering enhanced photo albums, stories, and collage suggestions. Facebook claims that this process aims to make it easier for users to create personalized and creative content.
Privacy Concerns
While the company states that the photos will not be used for advertising, media and privacy experts consider this feature a potential threat to user privacy. It can access the entire photo library on a user’s phone, including images never shared on Facebook. This raises the risk of misuse of personal information and photo data. Several users have complained that the feature was activated on their accounts without consent, compromising their privacy.
How to Turn Off Camera Roll Scanning
Users who want to protect their privacy and disable this feature can follow these steps:
- Open the Facebook app.
- Tap the menu icon (three lines) at the top-right corner.
- Go to Settings & Privacy.
- Select Settings.
- Scroll down and find Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions or Camera Roll Share Settings.
- There will be two toggles — one for “Camera Roll suggestions during Facebook browsing” and another for “Cloud Processing.”
- Turn off both toggles (change from blue/on to grey/off).
- For added security, go to your phone settings and revoke Facebook’s photo access permission:
- iOS: Settings > Privacy > Photos > Facebook > Select None or Selected Photos.
- Android: Settings > Apps > Facebook > Permissions > Photos > Deny.
This option is currently available only on the mobile app, and the feature is not yet rolled out to all users. As it is still in the testing phase, it will gradually reach more accounts.
Rollout Timeline and Company Response
Meta has not yet provided clear information on when this feature will be available globally or to all users. Currently, it is accessible to a limited number of users on both Android and iOS platforms. The company emphasizes that the feature is intended to provide better creative suggestions and photo management and that personal photo data is not used for advertising. Uploaded photos are deleted from the cloud after 30 days. However, growing privacy concerns have prompted experts to call for more transparency and user control.
Conclusion
Facebook’s new camera roll scanning feature could pose a privacy risk, especially if it is activated without full user consent. While Facebook promotes it as a tool for enhanced user experience and creative suggestions, safeguarding personal photos and data remains paramount. Users who see this feature in their Facebook app should disable it immediately and review their phone permissions to limit Facebook’s photo access. Staying aware of privacy settings and maintaining control over personal data has become more critical than ever.
Also Read
