Snapchat’s ‘My Selfie’ feature lets you create fun, AI-generated images of yourself based on photos you share with the app. However, the feature also auto automatically allows your AI image to be used in Snapchat’s “personalized sponsored content and ads”, sparking further concerns about the company’s cursory approach to user privacy.
Fortunately, if you aren’t ready to be unwillingly used as a Snapchat brand ambassador, there are measures you can take to opt out of the social media app’s marketing strategy. We explain how this can be done in simple steps, before addressing some cautionary risks of oversharing data with apps like Snapchat, and ChatGPT.
Snapchat Is Planning to Use Its User’s AI-Generated Selfies in Ads
Not one to be left behind in the AI race, social media giant Snapchat has recently rolled out a raft of AI-generated features that improve the way users can communicate with friends and family – including a ‘My Selfie’ capability designed to manage AI identities.
However, the new playful AI feature isn’t turning out to have more serious implications, with Snapchat reserving the right to put the faces of those using the capability in the company’s marketing materials.
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Specifically, when you’re introduced to the feature, Snapchat encourages you to agree to terms and conditions including them using “you (or your likeness)” in “personalized sponsored content and ads”.
“You also acknowledge and agree that by using My Selfie, you (or your likeness) may also appear in personalized sponsored content and ads that will be visible only to you and that includes branding or other advertising content of Snap or its business partners without compensation to you.” – Snapchat’s terms and conditions
While the instant messaging app explains these ads will only be visible to the user, the concept of a powerful tech corporation using highly realistic AI renderings of their faces in ads without compensation is, understandably, rubbing users the wrong way. But luckily, if you want to experiment with Snapchat’s new AI feature without unwillingly staring in your own social media feed, it’s relatively easy to opt out of being included in the company’s ads.
How to Opt-Out of Your Face Being Used in Snapchat’s Personalized Ads
Here’s how to prevent Snapchat from using your My Selfie data without your consent, in a couple of simple steps:
- Open Snapchat on your smartphone device
- Tap your profile picture in the top left corner
- Tap the gear wheel in the top right corner
- Scroll down to the My Selfie setting and select it
- Move the toggle to the left on the box labeled See My Selfie in Ads
Follow these steps to opt-out of being used in Snapchat’s personalized marketing content. Source: Tech.co
For an extra layer of security while using the feature, you’re also able to customize who is able to use My Selfie data by enabling it to be usable by friends, best friends, or just you. You can opt out of the feature altogether as well, by following the process above, but selecting ‘Clear Selfie’ as the final step.
Opting out of seeing your AI Selfie in ads should completely reduce the risk of you seeing your face in Snapchat’s marketing material. However, Snapchat also encourages users to report adverts that may be using images of their likeness without their permission, should this occur.
Snapchat’s Ad Controversy Isn’t the App’s First AI Blunder
In this case, it’s pretty painless to opt out of Snapchat leveraging your personal data against your will. However, as the social media app continues to leverage the power of AI, this isn’t the first time the Santa Monica-based company has attracted criticism for its heavy-handed relationship with personal user data.
Last year, Snapchat officially threw its hat in the AI race by releasing its own ChatGPT-powered chatbot, My AI. Unfortunately, My AI instantly sparked backlash among its userbase after they realized the app had unfettered access to their private information.
These concerns were proven to be valid too, with a provisional investigation by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealing that Snapchat failed to “adequately assess the data protection risks posed by the generative AI technology, particularly to children”, shortly after the app was released.
Snapchat subsequently reviewed the risks associated with AI and took steps to resolve them. However, with the social media app’s AI chatbot also hitting headlines in 2023 for spewing harmful language that goes against its own policies against hateful content – including racial slurs – it is clear that the messaging app has a long way to go before it fully masters the art of AI ethics.
With new AI safeguarding concerns rearing their head on a daily basis, and research revealing that it’s very difficult to delete sensitive data from apps like ChatGPT after it entered large language models (LLMs), we recommend using these apps with caution and being mindful of the information that you share with your favorite apps.
