Instagram may soon let you generate AI profile photos

Instagram could be working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will allow users to generate profile photos. A new leak claims that Meta’s social media platform is testing a feature that will allow users to use AI models to create new profile photos using AI. While not much is known about the feature at this time, similar features are reportedly being developed for Facebook and WhatsApp. Meanwhile, Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently announced that the automatic feed refresh, which was triggered when the app was opened after a certain period of time, has been abandoned by the service.

Instagram is developing AI feature for generating profile photos

Developer Alessandro Paluzzi found evidence of this feature in the Instagram app and shared details in a post on Threads. He was able to find a new menu option when updating his profile picture on Instagram that read: Create an AI profile photo. A screenshot of the menu was also shared by the developer.

While it’s hard to say exactly how this feature would work, as it’s still in development, it will likely be powered by one of Meta’s Llama large language models (LLMs). The feature could work in two ways: users could generate a brand new AI image using text-based prompts, or convert existing profile photos into different styles using AI.

This wouldn’t be the first AI feature to appear on Instagram. Meta’s platform already offers access to Meta AI, the conversational chatbot, in the form of a standalone chat and in group chats. The company has also introduced an AI rewrite feature for DM messages, which allows users to rephrase and change the tone of messages sent to another user.

Meanwhile, Meta recently announced that it is testing an AI-powered facial recognition technology to detect scam ads on Facebook and Instagram. The feature detects ads that fraudulently use public figures in their ads to lure and block users. It also revealed its plans to use the technology to authenticate users via video selfies to help them access their compromised accounts. None of these features are currently generally available.