Meta has introduced a new “incognito” mode for chats with its Meta AI chatbot on WhatsApp, as the company moves to address growing privacy concerns around AI-based conversations, according to a report by TechCrunch.
The company announced on Wednesday that users will soon be able to start private conversations with Meta AI through a new icon in one-on-one chats on WhatsApp. The feature is also expected to be added to the standalone Meta AI app in the coming months.
According to Meta, the incognito chats will operate within a secure environment where conversations will not be visible to others, stored, or retained after the user exits the chat. Messages exchanged in the mode will automatically disappear once the session is closed.
Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President of Product at WhatsApp, said users are increasingly relying on AI for sensitive and personal interactions, including financial, health and relationship-related queries.
“People are starting to use AI for everything, including some of their most private thoughts, whether that’s tackling financial or health questions, or for advice on how to respond to a tricky message from a friend or a colleague. We think it’s really important to give people the ability to ask these questions as privately as possible,” Newton-Rex told TechCrunch.
The report said Meta had previously introduced AI-powered message summaries using the same underlying system. The new incognito mode is powered by the company’s latest AI model, Muse Spark, launched last month.
Meta is also developing another feature called “Side Chat,” which would allow users to privately ask Meta AI questions within an ongoing chat without making the interaction visible to other participants.
Currently, users must publicly tag messages and interact with the AI assistant within a group or chat, making responses visible to everyone. Those seeking privacy must instead copy messages into a separate chat window.
The incognito mode is expected to roll out to users over the next few months.
(With ANI inputs)
