- Meta launches "gallery suggestions" on Facebook, an AI feature that generates automatic montages, collages, and videos.
- The tool is optional, requires explicit permission, and proposals remain private until the user decides to publish them.
- Meta assures that photos and videos are not used for advertising or AI training, unless the content is published or used in functions such as Meta AI.
- Gallery suggestions are now available to Facebook users in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
There are thousands of Photos and videos that get forgotten in the mobile phone gallery and they never see the light of day on social media. It's usually not because they aren't worthwhile, but because of a lack of time, motivation, or simple tools to edit them and share them with a minimum of grace.
Against this backdrop, Meta has taken another step in its commitment to artificial intelligence with a New feature on Facebook called “gallery suggestions”This feature proposes montages, collages and video clips generated automatically from the content stored on the user's device, with the aim of making it much easier to publish memories without having to fight with editors.
What is Facebook's new AI feature for creating automatic collages?
The calls “Gallery suggestions” are a tool integrated into Facebook It uses artificial intelligence algorithms to review photos and videos stored on your phone's memory and transform them into ready-to-publish options. The idea is simple: instead of you searching, selecting, and editing, the app does all the preliminary work and shows you pre-compiled results.
Meta explains that many people They capture important moments but rarely share themThey often think their photos aren't interesting enough or simply don't find the time to create something more elaborate. This feature aims to fill that gap, reducing the steps between taking the photo and uploading it to Facebook.
The tool is designed to run silently in the background: analyzes the device's local gallery (provided it has been granted permissions) and detects patterns, repeated scenes, or groups of images that might make sense together, such as a trip, a family meal, or a weekend getaway.
The result are automatic montages that appear as private suggestions within the app. From there, the user can decide whether to post them on the wall, in Stories, in the Memories section or other spaces of the social network, or simply ignore them and carry on with their own thing.
How Facebook creates montages, collages, and videos with AI
The heart of this function is a system of AI that examines photos and videos on your mobile phone to identify key moments. It's not just about looking at a single image, but about interpreting small stories within the gallery: series of photos in the same place, similar sequences taken in just a few minutes, or collections of clips that fit into the same event.
Once the tool has performed that analysis, Facebook generates different visual proposals. which the user can review before making a decision. Available formats include:
- Collages that combine several photos into a single composition.
- short videos with automatic editingtransitions and, in some cases, music suggested by the platform.
- Montages grouped by moments or themesFor example, “weekend at the beach” or “family birthday”.
The process is quite clear: first, AI select the most relevant or highest quality imagesThen it groups the content by context (place, date, repeated people) and finally builds a visual piece designed to be shared in one or two taps.
The user always has the final say. Each suggestion is displayed privately, so that Nothing is published automatically without explicit confirmationIf a proposal doesn't fit, it can simply be discarded; and if you like it but want to modify some details, you can adjust it before sharing.
This automation aims to anyone, even without editing experienceso users can upload content with a more polished finish. Meta's objective is clear: to reduce the barriers to publishing and increase activity within the social network, but without requiring users to spend too much time retouching photos and videos.
Privacy and control: what happens to the photos in your gallery
Access to personal files is always a sensitive issue, and Meta is aware of this. That's why it has emphasized that The gallery suggestions feature is completely optional. and it relies on the user's explicit consent. If permissions are not granted, Facebook cannot analyze the device's gallery.
For the tool to work, it is necessary Authorize access to photos and videos from the application's settings menuThis permission can be revoked at any time, and when it is, the function will no longer operate on the mobile device's local content. Therefore, it is not a pre-activated option, but rather an opt-in system that each user must manually activate if they wish to do so.
Meta also emphasizes that the The suggestions generated are kept in a private environment.Only the account owner sees them until they decide whether to publish them or not. Nothing is automatically shared with contacts, nor is anything sent to other platforms without direct action from the user.
Regarding data protection, the company has put several commitments in writing: Images and videos from the gallery will not be used for advertising purposes. nor to target ads based on what is detected in those photos. It also emphasizes that this material is not used to train its artificial intelligence models except in specific situations.
That nuance is important: according to the company, only if the user publishes the content or uses it with specific AI tools —as functions associated with Meta AI within the platform— those photos or clips may enter the training and model improvement flows, something that will be governed by the conditions and privacy policies applicable at any given time.
How to turn gallery suggestions on or off on Facebook
The handling of this function is left to the user so that they can turn it on or off whenever it suits youActivation is done from within the Facebook app itself, in the account settings section.
The general steps to follow are relatively simple: first you have to access the settings menuThen locate the section related to "Gallery Suggestions" or similar functions, and then grant or revoke access permission to the device's photos and videos.
Once authorization is granted, the artificial intelligence begins to analyze the stored content and generate proposals These will appear as private recommendations in different areas of the app. Common locations include the main feed, the Stories section, and the Memories area, where these montages are displayed as ready-to-share ideas.
If at any point the user changes their mind, they can Return to the settings menu and remove access.From that moment on, new suggestions based on the phone's local gallery will no longer be generated, although the usual social network functions, such as manually uploading photos or using other editing tools, will still be available.
This "you decide when it turns on and when it turns off" philosophy aims to offer a higher degree of control compared to other, more intrusive features. In this way, Each person can try the feature and see if they find it useful. And if you're not convinced, you can disable it without any hassle.
Another step forward by Meta in its commitment to AI within its ecosystem
The gallery suggestions don't arrive in isolation, but rather form part of a Meta's broader strategy to integrate AI in most of its products. Recently, the company has rolled out smart assistants, automatic editing options, and various AI-powered tools on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Within Facebook, this trend translates into features that help create and personalize content with less effort from the user. From the Automatic photo and video enhancement From generating Reels more tailored to each person's tastes, the company aims to have artificial intelligence do some of the heavy lifting.
Meta has also explored new visual experiences such as digital avatars and immersive formatsAll of this is aimed at maintaining interest and extending the time users spend using their services. Gallery suggestions fit into this same framework: automating tasks that previously required several manual steps, making interaction with the social network smoother.
From a business perspective, automation allows Generate content continuously without needing extensive technical knowledgeFor the user, it can mean the difference between leaving photos stored forever or sharing them in a matter of seconds, something that, in turn, impacts the vitality of the platform.
In this context, Facebook's new AI feature for creating automatic collages reinforces the idea that Social networks are evolving towards environments where technology takes a more active role. in the organization and presentation of digital memories, always with the challenge of balancing convenience and respect for privacy.
Availability in Spain and the rest of Europe
Meta has confirmed that this gallery suggestion technology It is now available to Facebook users in the European Union and the United KingdomThis includes Spain, where users can find the feature within the application, provided they have the latest version installed.
The company has chosen to deploy the tool first in these markets, which implies adapt to European data protection regulationsThis more demanding regulatory context forces Meta to provide more details on how permissions, the use of personal information, and user control options are managed.
In practice, those residing in Spain and other EU countries can already Try the gallery suggestions and see for yourself. How Facebook's AI rescues images that haven't been opened in a while and turns them into ready-to-publish montages.
At the same time, Meta has left the door open to extend the scope of this functionality to other territories Beyond the European Union and the United Kingdom, various communications have mentioned the intention to progressively extend it to new markets, suggesting that the company views this function as a key element in its roadmap.
With this launch, Facebook adds an extra layer of artificial intelligence to something as everyday as the mobile phone's gallery, offering a faster way to share memories without giving up control about what is published and what remains private, in a balance that will be key for users to accept this type of automation.
