WhatsApp and Meta AI: Incognito Revolution for Ultra-Private Chats

Meta recently announced the introduction of an incognito mode for conversations with its Meta AI chatbot on WhatsApp. This new feature allows users to start secure conversations that are invisible to anyone else by tapping on a dedicated icon in individual chats with Meta AI. According to Meta, these conversations are processed in a secure environment, ensuring that they cannot be seen by anyone else.

Users can initiate an incognito session by tapping on a new icon in one-on-one discussions with Meta AI. This feature will also be accessible via the standalone Meta AI app. Incognito chats will be gradually rolled out on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app over the coming months.

Meta clarified that these incognito conversations are not saved and that messages disappear by default once the chat is closed. The session also ends if the app is closed or if the phone is locked, meaning that Meta AI loses the context of that particular conversation. This approach aims to ensure that users can ask questions privately, without fear that their data will be retained.

Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President of Product at WhatsApp, stated during a call with TechCrunch that people are starting to use AI to address very personal topics, ranging from financial questions to advice on sensitive messages. She emphasized the importance of providing a secure way to ask these questions confidentially.

Meta has been working for some time on establishing foundations for secure AI chats on WhatsApp. Last year, the company detailed its private processing infrastructure, which allows for the development of AI features without compromising end-to-end encryption. Since then, WhatsApp has integrated features like AI-powered message summaries using this architecture.

Newton-Rex also mentioned that Meta previously used smaller models for its features, but the new incognito chat utilizes the latest Muse Spark model, launched last month. This advanced model enhances the security and privacy of exchanges.

In parallel, Meta is developing a new feature called Side Chat. This will allow users to invoke Meta AI in discussions to ask questions and receive answers privately, without it being visible to other chat participants. Currently, to ask a question to the AI assistant, one must tag a message, making the response visible to all participants. For a private question, the text must be copied into a separate chat window.

Other companies, such as ChatGPT and Claude, also offer incognito modes, and companies like DuckDuckGo and Proton have launched their own privacy-focused chatbots. Meta's initiative towards private AI chats comes at a crucial time, as legal concerns are emerging. Last month, Reuters reported that lawyers fear user conversations with an AI chatbot could be used against them in litigation.