A few weeks after users began noticing that the familiar blue circle for Meta AI was appearing in the messaging app WhatsApp, a new feature is rolling out to keep chats from the company’s AI features.
Meta said in a blog post that its Advanced Chat Privacy is a toggle setting that opts chats out of AI features and also keeps chats from being downloadable or from making media auto-downloadable to devices. The blog post does not specifically mention Meta AI.
The blog post reads in part:
This new setting available in both chats and groups helps prevent others from taking content outside of WhatsApp for when you may want extra privacy.
When the setting is on, you can block others from exporting chats, auto-downloading media to their phone, and using messages for AI features. That way everyone in the chat has greater confidence that no one can take what is being said outside the chat.
Meta posted information about its new Advanced Chat Privacy feature on its WhatsApp blog. It allows, among other things, users to opt chats and group conversations from AI features.
In the post, Meta said the feature is available in the latest version of WhatsApp. In our checks, however, updating to the latest version did not make the feature available. Selecting the name of a chat or group conversation should bring up the feature’s toggle option alongside “Disappearing messages,” “Lock chat” and “Encryption.”Â
A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Â
The Meta AI logo and the feature’s inclusion in WhatsApp has met with some backlash. Meta has said that Meta AI in WhatsApp is “entirely optional” although it can’t be removed from the app’s main screen or separated from WhatsApp itself.Â
