Contractors See Copilot Users’ Photos While Rating AI Edits, 404 Media Finds

A photo uploaded to Microsoft Copilot for editing can end up in front of a human contractor. In an investigation based on internal documents and worker accounts, 404 Media found that reviewers see the user’s prompt and original image while choosing between two AI-generated edits. The arrangement raises a question for users: who sees the pictures they hand to an AI tool?

The image on the reviewer’s screen

The instructions obtained by 404 Media describe a task built around a real request to edit an uploaded picture. A contractor sees the prompt, the original picture and two Copilot-generated versions, then picks the stronger edit. The upload is part of what the reviewer assesses, not merely an input supplied to Copilot.

Reviewers check whether an edit follows the request, preserves parts of the image that should stay unchanged, avoids visible distortions and looks good overall. If the request is to add a cup to a table, for example, the instructions say the rest of the scene should remain intact. The comparison calls for visual judgment, not just a check that Copilot produced an image.

404 Media puts the workforce at at least hundreds of reviewers who may sometimes see Copilot prompts and uploads. That figure describes the reported pool of people, not how often an individual user’s image is reviewed.

Human intuition is good at catching subtle quality differences that are hard to articulate.

Instructions given to Copilot contractors, quoted by 404 Media

A quality task with disturbing inputs

Contractors described encountering sexual imagery and other disturbing material. On an internal message board reviewed by 404 Media, workers discussed requests to sexualize images of women and said they had seen content promoting eating disorders. One contractor wrote about receiving a set of upskirt photos and asked for an unsafe-content flag, so reviewers would know what a task contained before accepting it.

Their assignment is to rate Copilot’s edits, rather than primarily to flag inappropriate requests. That means a worker judging whether an edit followed instructions may have to inspect content they find objectionable. 404 Media identifies Prolific as at least one company hiring contractors for the work; Prolific did not respond to its request for comment.

The question about user control

Microsoft told 404 Media that it uses customer data as described in its terms, including to improve products and enforce its code of conduct. Its response did not say whether users can exclude uploaded images from the rating tasks described in the investigation.

Microsoft’s privacy FAQ says uploaded files and conversations about them are subject to users’ choices about model training and personalization. But that FAQ applies only to an older Copilot app; Microsoft directs users of the updated version to different guidance. The live question is what notice and control people have when human reviewers assess their image edits—not simply whether they can change a model-training setting.