Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing increasing scrutiny over its privacy practices, data collection methods, and lack of transparency. Recent developments reveal that the company’s reach into users’ personal lives—and even the lives of those not on the platform—goes further than many previously imagined.

Here is a breakdown of the recent privacy concerns surrounding Meta, its controversial AI training methods, and a massive new lawsuit that highlights a history of misleading consumers.

The $25 Billion Lawsuit in New Mexico

Recently, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a staggering $25 billion fine following a verdict that the company committed over 43 million violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.

The case stems from Meta consistently misleading Facebook users about who could access their personal information. Rooted in the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal—where a political consulting firm inappropriately obtained data from up to 87 million users—the jury determined that 26 out of 29 statements made by Meta and its leaders regarding privacy and content moderation were misleading. According to reports by Al Jazeera, this marks the largest fine ever ordered against the tech giant.

Training AI on Years of Personal Posts

One of the most alarming recent revelations is Meta’s admission that it used public Facebook and Instagram posts and photos from adults going as far back as 2007 to train its AI models. For over a decade and a half, users’ public thoughts, family photos, and vacation pictures were inadvertently helping build the foundation of Meta’s artificial intelligence.

While European users were provided a way to opt out of this data collection due to stricter regional privacy laws, Americans were not afforded the same choice. Meta has stated that it does not currently offer an opt-out feature for users in the US, nor were users ever asked for permission to use their data in this way.

Furthermore, according to Reuters, starting December 16, 2025, Meta began using conversations with its built-in Meta AI assistant to personalize ads and content for users. This applies across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. While the company claims it filters out sensitive topics like health and politics, there is no way to opt out of having your AI interactions used for targeted advertising unless you stop using Meta products entirely.

The Camera Roll Feature You Need to Check

Meta recently rolled out a feature in the US and Canada that offers to look through your phone’s camera roll. If enabled, Meta AI continuously uploads photos from your device to the Meta Cloud in the background to suggest edits, collages, and “hidden gems” to share.

While Meta claims this is an opt-in feature, many users quickly tap “allow” on pop-ups without realizing the implications. This means pictures of children, screenshots of bank accounts, medical paperwork, and other deeply personal photos could be uploaded to Meta’s servers without explicit, conscious consent for every image.

How to turn this off:

1. Open the Facebook app.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Look for the section called “Camera Roll Sharing Suggestions”.
4. If “Cloud Processing” is turned on, switch it off. According to Meta, any unshared photos uploaded through this feature will be deleted within 30 days of turning it off.

Business Accounts and Smart Glasses

The privacy concerns extend beyond individual users.

• Business Web Scraping: As of October 30, 2026, Meta’s business terms allow the company to use automated crawlers to collect content from websites associated with business accounts on its platforms. Legal experts warn that these rules give Meta broad permission to scrape data from your business website if you use their products.
• Smart Glasses Privacy Breach: A new class-action lawsuit targets Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, claiming that contractors working for the company watched private videos recorded on the devices. Some videos reportedly showed sensitive information like text messages and bank details. Alarmingly, the lawsuit includes plaintiffs who were recorded by the glasses in public without ever buying them or consenting to be filmed.

As technology advances and data becomes more valuable, the burden continues to fall on the consumer to navigate complex settings and constantly changing policies just to keep their private lives private.