EyeEm will use users' photos to train AI if they don't delete them

EyeEm is now utilizing its users' photos to enhance AI models.

The company sent customers an email this month to inform them about an update to the Terms & Conditions. The update introduces a new rule about using user content in software development. Users had 30 days to remove all of their content from EyeEm's platform in order to opt out. If not, they were agreeing to this use case being part of their job.

EyeEm's photo library had approximately 150,000 users and 160 million photos when it was acquired in 2023. The company has committed to gradually integrating its community with Freepik's. According to data from Appfigures, despite its fall, approximately 30,000 people still download it each month.

EyeEm, once seen as a possible rival to Instagram, had only three employees left when it was sold to Freepik. Joaquin Cuenca Abela, CEO of Freepik, wants to use AI to help creators on the EyeEm site.

As it turned out, this meant selling their work to train AI models.

Content posted on social media or in EyeEm Magazine cannot be deleted, even with the complex process outlined in Section 13. The process starts with the direct deletion of images. Users would have to send a request to support@eyeem.com with the content ID numbers of the photos they wish to remove and specify whether the content should be removed from their account as well or just from the EyeEm market in order to remove content from the EyeEm market (where photographers sell their photos) or other content platforms.

Notably, the letter states that it can take up to 180 days for these removals from the EyeEm market and partner platforms. That's correct: Users have 30 days to opt out, but requested deletions may take up to 180 days to complete. Thus, the only choice left is to manually remove each picture one at a time.