This is correct for Lemmy codebase; but a WIP by the pictrs dev and upstream Lemmy itself.
For now, Beehaw users can go to their settings via the website, and uncheck Show images if they’re so inclined. This should prevent all images in posts and comments from loading automatically for you. This does not translate to other instances, front-ends, or apps. Just the main website. EDIT: Because of the caching, you’ll need to CTRL +F5 after saving this setting, to see it take affect.