Meta Platforms has added ‘Incognito Chat’ features to WhatsApp to address privacy concerns during users’ sensitive conversations with Meta AI on the app.
The company announced the update in a blog post on WhatsApp’s website on Wednesday, noting that even the Meta company can no longer read conversations between users and Meta AI after introducing the AI feature.
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Chatting with AI has become a critical part of how people get information and ask important questions, even on social media platforms.
Many of these questions can be deeply sensitive or include private financial, personal, health, or work-related data.
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Meta said it is extending its privacy features to chats with Meta AI, following the introduction of end-to-end encryption ten years ago, which ensures privacy in conversations between two users.
The incognito chat feature is different from end-to-end encryption; it ensures privacy between users and Meta AI.
“Today we’re launching Incognito Chat with Meta AI, a new way to have completely private conversations with AI,” the tech giant said, noting that the privacy feature allows WhatsApp users to talk to Meta AI in a way that is invisible to anyone else.
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It explained that the newly launched Incognito feature allows chats to disappear after conversations, enabling users to explore and think through their ideas privately.
The conversation will end if users close the app or lock their phone, and Meta AI will lose the context of the discussion.
Meta joins ChatGPT, Claude, Protons, and other tech companies that offer chatbots in incognito mode.
“Other apps have introduced incognito-style modes, but they can still see the questions coming in and the answers going out. Incognito Chat with Meta AI is truly private; no one can read your conversation, not even us.
“Since we started exploring bringing AI to WhatsApp, we’ve been focused on how to deliver this power privately, at a global scale. When you start an Incognito Chat with Meta AI, you’re creating a private, temporary conversation that only you can see.
“Your messages are processed in a secure environment that even Meta cannot access. Your conversations are not saved and, by default, your messages disappear, giving you a space to think and explore ideas without anyone watching,” the company stated.
WhatsApp users can activate an incognito session by tapping on a new icon in one-on-one chats with Meta AI. The company said the feature will also be available on other Meta-owned apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, in the coming months.
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Side chat
The tech firm said it will also launch ‘Side Chat’ in the coming months, which will offer users private help with any chat as private ways of interacting become part of users’ daily routines.
“We believe this private way of chatting has the potential to become one of several ways people interact with AI on WhatsApp. In the coming months, we’ll also introduce Side Chat protected by Private Processing.
“Side Chat with Meta AI will give you private help with any chat, with the context of what’s being discussed, without disrupting the main conversation.
“We remain committed to delivering privacy for the world. Incognito Chat with Meta AI is rolling out on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app over the coming months,” the company said.
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