When you post something on the internet, you cede a measure of control to anyone who might happen upon it. Photos, videos, text, audio recordings: all of this content can be downloaded or screenshot, and repurposed in whatever way another user wishes. That’s the risk of posting online.
The thing is, you might not assume the platform you’re posting to would go out of its way to help other users repurpose your content—but that’s exactly what TikTok is currently doing with its new AI “remixes” feature.
What are TikTok’s AI “remixes?”
AI remixes are meant to be a kind of meme-creation tool. According to CNET, remixes allow TikTok users to create a custom image generated from your content—with the help of AI, of course. If you post a video of your morning coffee routine, for example, a viewer could use remixes to generate an image of you holding your coffee, with text that reads “That first morning sip be like,” or anything else they might want to spin up. The idea is apparently to share this new AI image in your video’s comments, as another means to boost engagement on the platform.
TikTok remixes are currently only in testing
It’s important to note that remixes are not an official TikTok feature at this time—TikTok confirmed to CNET that AI remixes are currently an experimental feature, and the company is trialing it on a limited basis. There are no definitive plans to roll it out further, and TikTok says the way remixes work could change by the time it launches in full—if it ever does.
I’m sure some users would be creative enough to generate some funny AI memes using remixes, but I have some big privacy concerns. Creators might not want to subject their likeness to TikTok’s AI factory, as allowing your content to be used in remixes essentially means giving permission for your face and videos to be used to train the company’s AI models. The good news is TikTok does allow you to opt out of remixes; the bad news is that you can’t opt out en masse. Instead, the app forces you to disable remixes for each and every video you post. It seems the company thinks you might want to allow Remix for some videos and not others, when, in reality, many creators would likely prefer to block them altogether.
What do you think so far?
How to opt out of TikTok’s AI remixes
Not everyone has to worry about this quite yet, since TikTok is only trialing AI remixes with select users. Still, if you post videos on TikTok, it’s worth checking your settings to make sure the feature isn’t enabled—assuming you want to opt out, of course.
To do so, tap on one of your TikTok videos, then tap the three dots in the bottom right corner. Scroll down, and choose “Privacy Settings.” If you’re part of the trial, you’ll see “Allow AI to remix content” enabled. Tap to turn the option off.
