"Photo-sharing community EyeEm will license users’ photos to train AI if they don’t delete them" 26 April 2024

EyeEm, the Berlin-based photo-sharing community that exited last year to Spanish company Freepik after going bankrupt, is now licensing its users’ photos to train AI models. Earlier this month, the company informed users via email that it was adding a new clause to its Terms & Conditions that would grant it the rights to upload users’ content to “train, develop, and improve software, algorithms, and machine-learning models.” Users were given 30 days to opt out by removing all their content from EyeEm’s platform. Otherwise, they were consenting to this use case for their work...

...Once thought of as a possible challenger to Instagram — or at least “Europe’s Instagram” — EyeEm had dwindled to a staff of three before selling to Freepik, TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden previously reported...

...Of note, the notice says that these deletions from EyeEm market and partner platforms could take up to 180 days. Yes, that’s right: Requested deletions take up to 180 days but users only have 30 days to opt out. That means the only option is manually deleting photos one by one...

...EyeEm’s move is an example of how AI models are being trained on the back of users’ content, sometimes without their explicit consent. Though EyeEm did offer an opt-out procedure of sorts, any photographer who missed the announcement would have lost the right to dictate how their photos were to be used going forward...

...Requests for comment sent to EyeEm weren’t immediately confirmed, but given this countdown had a 30-day deadline, we’ve opted to publish before hearing back...