Creative GenerationConsumer FacingVerified
Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, March 23, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.
Instagram's Restyle tool lets users apply AI-generated visual styles to their photos and videos — for example turning a selfie into a watercolor painting or a film noir scene — using a text prompt or by choosing from presets. It launched in 2023 for Stories and expanded to video editing in 2025.
Details
Restyle is powered by Meta's Emu generative AI model and works by analyzing the existing image or video and applying a new visual style while preserving the original subject and composition. The text prompt version launched at Meta Connect in September 2023 for Instagram Stories specifically. Video Restyle became available through Instagram's standalone Edits app in June 2025.
Products affected
Instagram StoriesEdits app
Sources & Evidence
Cite this record
Trace Foundation. (2026). Instagram: Instagram's Restyle tool lets users apply AI-generated visual styles to their photos and videos — for example turning a selfie into a watercolor painting or a film noir scene — using a text prompt or by choosing from presets. It launched in 2023 for Stories and expanded to video editing in 2025 (data as of 2026-03-23) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/fc7c2316-c707-4453-a617-0bec569c59f7. Accessed October 13, 2026.
- Stable link
- https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/fc7c2316-c707-4453-a617-0bec569c59f7
- Data as of
- March 23, 2026
- Last verified
- March 24, 2026
Other practices by Instagram
OtherInstagram automatically transcribes spoken words in Stories and Reels into on-screen text captions using AI speech recognition. Users add a "Captions" sticker to any video with speech and the text appears automatically. This feature launched on Instagram Stories in May 2021.OtherWhen Instagram users try to change their stated age from under 18 to 18 or older, they may be asked to complete an AI-powered face scan to estimate their age. Separately, Meta uses a background AI system that monitors Instagram account behavior to detect users who may be younger than they claim. Both systems are specific to Instagram's teen safety program.OtherInstagram automatically applies a label — called "AI Info" — to photos, videos, and audio that were created or significantly modified using AI tools. The labels appear on content from Instagram's own AI features as well as from third-party tools like Adobe Firefly and Midjourney. The system launched in May 2024 and has faced criticism for inconsistent application.
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