New feature uses Private Processing technology to keep Meta AI chats temporary and inaccessible
A new privacy focused feature has been updated by Meta for WhatsApp – Incognito Chat. This allows users to have private Meta AI conversations with the WhatsApp AI chat bot temporarily.
The feature targets users discussing sensitive topics, including personal, financial, and health-related matters. As reported by The Indian Express, Meta said the chats remain inaccessible to everyone, including the company itself.
Meta plans to roll out Incognito Chat on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app over the coming months.
Meta says chats will remain private and temporary
Meta built Incognito Chat on its Private Processing infrastructure, which creates a secure cloud environment for AI interactions. According to the company, user prompts and AI-generated responses disappear automatically and are not stored permanently.
As reported by The Indian Express, the system uses Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), a security framework designed to isolate sensitive information during processing.
Meta said the technology aims to offer privacy protections similar to end-to-end encryption and on-device processing for AI tasks that require cloud computing.
In its white paper, Meta said the goal of Private Processing is to improve privacy and security for AI-powered services where end-to-end encryption alone may not be sufficient.
Launch comes amid growing AI privacy concerns
This move comes as artificial intelligence chatbots are being used more widely in messaging applications and consumer apps. Privacy and security issues related to artificial intelligence have also been gaining attention on a global level.
In addition, the news came after Meta announced the discontinuation of the end-to-end encryption option for direct messages on Instagram. This will help Meta see the contents of the message. In another development, OpenAI had been sued recently in the US after it was claimed that its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT helped plan a school shooting in Florida, according to The Indian Express report.
Meta plans more AI privacy features
Meta also said it is working on different AI chatbot services on Whatsapp while ensuring user privacy. A Side Chat feature is also in process which may be introduced in coming months.
Protected by the same Private Processing technology, Side Chat will provide AI assistance within ongoing conversations without interrupting the main chat flow.
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