Instagram AI feature that lets users generate profile photos spotted in development

Instagram could be working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will allow users to generate profile photos. A new leak claims that the Meta-owned 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 this feature at this point, similar features are reportedly in development 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, had been abandoned by the service.

Instagram develops AI profile image generation feature

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

While it’s hard to say how exactly this feature would work since it’s still in development, it will likely be powered by one of Meta’s Llama Large Language Models (LLM). The feature could work in two ways: it could allow users to generate an AI image from scratch using text prompts or convert existing profile photos into different styles using the AI.

This wouldn’t be the first AI feature to come to Instagram. The Meta-owned platform already offers access to Meta AI, its conversational chatbot, in the form of standalone chat as well as group chats. The company also rolled out 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 AI-based facial recognition technology to detect fraudulent ads on Facebook and Instagram. The feature will detect ads that fraudulently use public figures in their ads to lure users and block them. It also revealed plans to use technology to verify users via video selfies to help them gain access to their compromised accounts. None of these features are widely available at this time.