Meta has announced the discontinuation of its Meta Spark platform for third-party augmented reality (AR) tools and content, effective January 14, 2025.

This decision is part of Meta's strategic shift towards prioritizing investments in artificial intelligence, with plans to allocate between $35-40 billion to AI technologies.

As Meta removes these filters, users may increasingly turn to advanced AI-generated filters on other platforms, which can create hyper-realistic images that are hard to detect as altered.

Popular beautifying filters often alter facial features, contributing to users seeking cosmetic enhancements and perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards.

Although sophisticated beautifying filters will be eliminated from Meta's platforms, users are expected to seek alternatives on other social media platforms.

While the removal of filters may suggest a move away from unrealistic beauty standards, critics argue that it could instead drive filter use underground.

The removal will impact over two million user-generated filters, particularly those that alter appearances, which have become a staple feature on Instagram.

Research indicates that the use of beautifying AR filters is linked to negative mental health and body image issues, especially among young women.

The absence of watermarking from filtered images raises concerns about visual literacy, complicating the ability for users to discern edited from unedited images.

The removal of beauty filters on Instagram is likely to exacerbate existing issues rather than resolve them, potentially pushing users toward alternative platforms with less oversight.

While first-party filters created by Meta will remain available, they offer far fewer options and do not include beautifying features.

Users and creators have until January 14, 2025, to utilize Spark and third-party AR effects, with Meta promising a smooth transition process.