How to Turn Off Meta AI: A Step-by-Step Guide

Meta (formerly Facebook) has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its suite of services for years, primarily to enhance user experiences through personalized content, ads, and automation. However, some users may find the AI-driven features intrusive, privacy-invasive, or simply unnecessary. If you’re one of those users, you may be wondering how to turn off or limit the Meta AI features on your account. In this article, we will walk you through various steps you can take to reduce or disable Meta’s AI features, whether you are using Facebook, Instagram, or other Meta platforms.

1. Understanding Meta AI

Meta AI is a range of machine learning technologies that are used across Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. These AIs help deliver personalized content, improve ad targeting, detect harmful behavior, and more. The system gathers data about user interactions to refine the platform’s recommendations, advertisements, and content. While this enhances user experience for some, it may feel overly invasive for others.

2. Turning Off Personalized Ads

One of the most common AI-driven features on Meta platforms is personalized advertising. Meta uses machine learning algorithms to show you ads based on your online behavior, interests, and interactions. If you want to stop seeing personalized ads, follow these steps:

On Facebook

1. Go to your Facebook Settings by clicking the arrow in the top-right corner.
2. Select Settings & Privacy, then Settings.
3. In the left sidebar, click on Ads.
4. Under the Ad Preferences section, you will find Ad Settings. Here you can choose to turn off options like:
   • Personalized ads based on your activity on Facebook Company Products.
   • Personalized ads based on your activity on other websites and apps.
   • Ads based on information from partners.
5. Simply turn off the toggles for the types of ads you want to block.

On Instagram

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
2. Tap the three lines in the top-right corner and select Settings.
3. Tap Ads, and you can control how personalized ads are shown to you, or limit certain types of data collection.

By turning off these settings, you’ll reduce how much Meta AI personalizes your ad experience, though you may still see ads, just less targeted.

3. Controlling Facial Recognition Settings

Another feature powered by AI on Meta platforms is facial recognition. Meta uses facial recognition to suggest tags in photos, helping users identify people in their posts. If you prefer not to have this feature on, here’s how to turn it off:

On Facebook

1. Go to Settings.
2. Under the Privacy section, click Face Recognition.
3. You’ll see an option for Do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos?
4. Choose No to disable this feature.

On Instagram

As of 2021, Instagram no longer uses facial recognition to suggest photo tags. However, you can still manage your privacy settings to control who can tag you in photos, which helps limit the AI’s data collection.

4. Turning Off Automatic Content Moderation

Meta uses AI for content moderation to detect inappropriate content, hate speech, bullying, and other harmful activities on its platforms. While this is beneficial for creating a safer environment, it may also limit free expression or miss certain nuances in language. You can adjust the content moderation filters to your liking:

On Facebook

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Privacy, then Activity Log.
3. Here you can filter through the types of activities that Meta AI monitors, such as interactions with content, friend suggestions, and group suggestions.

On Instagram

1. Go to Settings, then Privacy.
2. Under Comments, you can enable the option to manually approve comments or block certain words. This won’t turn off the AI moderation, but it gives you more control over your experience.

5. Limiting AI Recommendations and Content

Meta’s AI is designed to personalize your feed and recommend friends, groups, pages, and content based on your activity. To turn off or limit some of these AI recommendations:

On Facebook

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Feed Preferences.
3. Here, you can manage who you see content from and what types of content are recommended.

On Instagram

1. Tap your profile picture and go to Settings.
2. Select Account, then Sensitive Content Control.
3. You can limit the types of sensitive content you see in your feed or on Explore by setting this to a “Less” option.

6. Turning Off Meta’s AI Voice Assistant

Meta has integrated its AI into its voice assistant technology, such as in Messenger. If you don’t want to use Meta’s voice assistant, you can disable it:

On Messenger

1. Open the Messenger app.
2. Go to Settings, then Voice Settings.
3. Toggle off the voice assistant feature if it is enabled.

7. Managing Your Data Settings

AI on Meta platforms relies heavily on your data. By managing your data settings, you can limit the amount of information Meta collects, which in turn affects the performance of AI algorithms.

On Facebook

1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information.
2. Here, you can manage data about your activities, interests, and device information that Meta uses to power its AI features.

On Instagram

1. Open Settings and go to Security.
2. Select Download Data, where you can review the data Instagram has collected about you and delete any information you don’t wish to share.

8. What You Should Know

Turning off certain Meta AI features may impact your overall user experience. While disabling personalized ads, facial recognition, and content recommendations can help reduce privacy concerns, it may also result in a less tailored experience. Keep in mind that Meta’s AI is constantly evolving, and the company may continue to add or change AI features. Regularly checking your settings and keeping up with platform updates can help you maintain control over how AI is used on your account.

Meta’s AI plays a significant role in shaping your online experience, from personalized ads to content recommendations. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can limit or turn off many of these AI features, giving you more control over your data and online privacy. Whether you want to reduce targeted ads, control facial recognition, or adjust content filtering, Meta provides several options for you to manage its AI-powered features.