Meta announced Wednesday that it is introducing an incognito conversation mode for its Meta AI chatbot on WhatsApp and the standalone Meta AI app. The feature is designed to allow users to interact with Meta AI in a more private environment where conversations are not stored and messages disappear automatically after sessions end.
Users will be able to start an incognito session by tapping a new icon within one-on-one chats with Meta AI. Meta said the feature will begin rolling out to WhatsApp and the Meta AI app over the next few months.
According to the company, conversations held in incognito mode are processed within a secure environment and cannot be viewed by others.
Messages Disappear After Sessions End
Meta said incognito conversations are not saved and that messages will disappear automatically once users close the chat window.
The company added that sessions will also terminate if users close the app or lock their phones. When that happens, Meta AI will lose the context tied to the conversation.
Alice Newton-Rex said users are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for personal and sensitive topics.
“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,” Newton-Rex told TechCrunch. “We think it’s really important to give people the ability to ask these questions as privately as possible.”
Private Processing Infrastructure
Meta has been developing infrastructure intended to support AI features on WhatsApp while maintaining end-to-end encryption protections.
Last year, the company detailed what it called a private processing architecture designed to allow AI systems to function without exposing user content.
Since then, WhatsApp has introduced AI-powered message summaries using that infrastructure.
Newton-Rex said earlier AI features relied on smaller AI models, while the new incognito functionality uses Meta’s Muse Spark model, which the company released last month.
Meta also confirmed that it is developing another feature called Side Chat.
The upcoming feature will allow users to privately ask Meta AI questions within existing chats without alerting other participants in the conversation.
Currently, users must tag messages and interact with Meta AI in a visible way that other chat members can see. Users wanting to ask questions privately must instead copy text into a separate AI conversation window.
Growing Focus On Private AI Conversations
Meta’s announcement follows similar privacy-focused AI features introduced by other companies.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude both offer forms of incognito or temporary conversation modes.
Companies including DuckDuckGo and Proton have also launched privacy-focused chatbot services.
The release comes as questions around the legal treatment of AI conversations continue to grow. The article noted that Reuters recently cited legal experts who said conversations with AI chatbots could potentially be used as evidence during litigation proceedings.
Featured image credits: Needpix.com
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