Italy’s data protection authority has fined Meta €805 million (about $887 million) over a Facebook feature on Android. The feature uses photos in your phone’s gallery to suggest post ideas. The order applies in Italy only.
The same Facebook app and the same Android photo permission exist on phones in the US and elsewhere. So it is worth checking how much of your gallery Facebook can reach, and trimming it if you want.
How to limit Facebook’s photo access on Android
Android lets you choose how much of your photo library any app can see. Menu names vary by phone maker and Android version, so treat this as a general path.
- Open Settings and tap Apps.
- Find and tap Facebook, then tap Permissions.
- Tap Photos and videos. On some phones this is labelled Files and media.
- Pick Allow limited access to choose specific photos, or Don’t allow to block gallery access.
These are standard Android permission settings, not steps published by Meta. Your phone’s menus may look slightly different.
Why Italy fined Meta over Facebook gallery access
Italy’s Data Protection Authority said Meta did not properly inform about 20 million smartphone users, the BBC reports. Those users were not told clearly that a Facebook feature had access to their photos and videos.
The problem was the permission prompt. Facebook requested gallery access through a single, app-wide authorisation. According to the regulator, the notice shown before it did not make clear that this also allowed suggestions based on gallery photos.
The regulator weighed the large number of people affected when setting the fine. It said the practice continues for anyone who has not updated the app or has already consented. It also cited a lack of co-operation from Meta.
IT Home, relaying the regulator’s statement, says the feature has been offered since 2023. The investigation began in July 2025 after a complaint from a consumer centre in Bolzano.
What Meta has to change
Meta has 60 days to switch the feature off by default. It must also seek separate consent from users for it.
Meta’s response
Meta told the BBC it will appeal. A Meta spokesperson defended the feature to the broadcaster:
This is a straightforward feature which helps people post photos and videos to Facebook. People must give permission on their device before it can operate, and they can change this permission at any time via their settings.
Meta’s defence rests on that device permission. The regulator’s finding is that the single app-wide prompt never made the suggestion use clear. A setting you can change only helps if you know what it controls.
The BBC also notes that last month a US judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25bn over Facebook user data claims.
If you are reviewing app access anyway, Gemini’s Memory Summary lets you see and delete what Google’s assistant knows about you.
