Meta transferred the longtime Instagram and X handle @muse from English rock band Muse to its newly launched personal AI agent of the same name. The controversial handle grab left fans bewildered on social media as the band shifted to alternative usernames without immediate explanation from either party.
Meta Reclaims the @muse Handle for Its New AI Agent
English rock band Muse, known for selling out arenas over decades, no longer controls the @muse handle on Instagram, where the group commands nearly three million followers. Meta reassigned the username to its personal AI agent, which launched on Tuesday. An archived version of the band’s website confirms that the group held the handle as recently as last month. Following the change, the band adopted @museband on Instagram and @Musetheband on X, while the artificial intelligence service secured @muse across both platforms.
The move drew immediate attention from fans across social platforms. A viral Reddit post claimed the group was forced into the change, sparking widespread online backlash. That’s genuinely the worst,
fumed one bewildered fan on the platform. Another user added that Mark Zuckerberg was quite a loser. Other music fans accused the band of striking a corporate deal with Big Tech, though no financial terms or agreements have been made public.
Silence From the Band and Meta Amid Precedent Concerns
Neither Meta nor representatives for the rock band have commented on the handle transfer or clarified whether the handover was consensual. Under Instagram’s terms of use, Meta reserves the right to modify a user’s account name if it deems the action appropriate or necessary.
The situation mirrors previous high-profile username reassignments by tech platforms. When Elon Musk rebranded Twitter as X in 2023, the platform took the @X username from a user who had held it since 2007, offering only merchandise and a headquarters tour in return. Similarly, a Russian user named Ksenia Ermokhina lost the handle @miley to singer Miley Cyrus on X without compensation or prior contact.
Privacy Architecture and the Sentinel Security System
The namesake AI agent arrived as part of Meta Superintelligence Labs, an artificial intelligence unit formed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to compete with systems developed by OpenAI and Anthropic. Designed to automate tasks like sending emails, booking travel, or selling cars, the tool operates through a dedicated mobile app, a web portal, and direct messaging via WhatsApp. Users of Meta’s AI glasses will also gain access to the agent.
Because the agent requires access to extensive personal data, Meta built its infrastructure around a Secure VM architecture designed to isolate user activity.
Singleton added that the company developed an internal monitoring tool called the Sentinel. The system checks data moving out of the virtual machine against pre-approved user policies or triggers a human-in-the-loop dialog box to request explicit authorization.
Stripe Integration and Subscription Requirements
To handle transactions securely, the system integrates with specialized payment infrastructure designed by Stripe. Known as Link, the tool generates single-use virtual card numbers so that automated agents never expose a user’s actual financial details across the internet. Meta stated that its agent is the first covered by Link’s purchase protections, which guarantee no-fee returns for transactions handled by agents.
While basic access to the service is free for iOS and Android users, heavy digital task automation requires one of the company’s paid subscription plans.
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