Meta has introduced a new optional AI feature for Facebook users in the United States and Canada, aiming to enhance the appeal of their photos and videos. However, this tool is designed to work exclusively with images and videos stored on users’ phone camera rolls, rather than those already uploaded to Facebook. By opting into this feature, users allow Meta’s AI to sift through their camera rolls, uploading unpublished content to Meta’s cloud. The AI then identifies and suggests “hidden gems” that might otherwise remain unnoticed among less interesting captures like screenshots or receipts. Users can choose to save or share these AI-curated edits and collages.

This initiative may seem familiar to some, as it echoes a similar test conducted by the company in June. During that trial, Meta assured users that private, unpublished photos were not being utilized to train its AI systems, though it did not completely dismiss the possibility of doing so in the future.

Now, with the official launch of this feature, it appears Meta is indeed leveraging users’ photos to train its AI, but under specific conditions. In a statement released on Friday, Meta clarified, “We don’t use media from your camera roll to improve AI at Meta, unless you choose to edit this media with our AI tools, or share.”

The Verge sought further clarification from Meta regarding the timing and conditions under which users’ photos might be used to train AI. The questions focused on whether AI training begins immediately upon opting into the feature, or only after editing or sharing a creation made with the tool.

In response, Meta spokesperson Mari Melguizo provided a detailed explanation: “This means the camera roll media uploaded by this feature to make suggestions won’t be used to improve AI at Meta. Only if you edit the suggestions with our AI tools or publish those suggestions to Facebook, improvements to AI at Meta may be made.”

In essence, while Meta will collect and store photos in its cloud and potentially review them with AI, they won’t be used for training unless the user chooses to take further action, such as editing or sharing the content. Currently, the feature is designed to continuously select media from users’ camera rolls and upload it to Meta’s cloud. Notably, Meta stated that this data will not be used for ad targeting, though in June, it mentioned the possibility of retaining some data for more than 30 days.

Last year, Meta acknowledged that it had already quietly trained its AI models on all public photos and text posted to Facebook and Instagram by adult users since 2007.

Facebook’s blog today shows that users will be asked if they want to “allow cloud processing to get creative ideas made for you from your camera roll.” It’s not yet clear if that prompt will also warn users that the feature may train Meta’s AI on your photos. The company says the feature is meant to help users who enjoy snapping pics but want to improve their photos before posting, or who don’t have time to “create something special.” Facebook says it’ll roll out the feature in the coming months.