You may have received it yourself: a WhatsApp message warning that ‘AI can access all your chats’. The Chat Privacy message is widely shared and urges users to adjust their settings. But what is the real situation?
WhatsApp Chat Privacy
Some time ago, WhatsApp introduced a new feature called Chatprivacy. The option, also called 'Advanced chat privacy', allows you to limit how messages and media from a chat is shared outside WhatsApp. Over the past few hours and days, a so-called chain message has been going around calling for 'advanced chat privacy' to be enabled. This so that Meta, the parent company, cannot train AI with your messages.
RTL News delved deeper into the matter. According to AI expert Remy Gieling, there is no reason to panic, although nuance is needed. At issue is Meta AI, a new assistant within WhatsApp. It was developed by Meta and has recently become available in Dutch. You can recognise the feature by the blue-purple button at the bottom of your chat screen, or you can call Meta AI manually via the @MetaAI command, even in group apps.
The assistant can be handy: you can ask it in a neighbourhood group app, for example, which painter is the cheapest in the area. But there is an important caveat.
End-to-end encryption changes if you enable Meta AI
WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted by default. That means only you and the recipient can read the content. But as soon as you call up Meta AI in a conversation, Meta can watch. The assistant then has access to the entire chat sequence, even afterwards. That information is used to train Meta's AI models.
Meta says it does not intend to make this data public, but using the AI does mean that your data is actively processed. According to Gieling, the risk of abuse is small, but not zero. In rare cases, malicious people could gain access to AI models containing data via so-called prompt injection.
What can you do?
If you prefer not to take a risk, you can enable advanced chat privacy in WhatsApp. You do this for each chat or group app. Be aware that photos from those chats are also no longer automatically saved on your device.
According to Gieling, it is good that people are thinking about this development, but he emphasises that your data will not be out on the streets just like that. However, it is wise to weigh up whether WhatsApp is the right channel for sensitive information, such as business or medical data.
Update 9 August: WhatsApp has responded to DroidApp's article. In an email, they further explain what exactly the feature entails, and the issues surrounding privacy. According to Meta, Meta AI can only read what you share directly with the chat assistant. In doing so, Meta AI is only on when you choose to use it. WhatsApp shares more information about this on this page.
Thereby, messages in WhatsApp are protected by end-to-end encryption by default. This means that only you and the people you chat with can read or share them. This is regardless of whether Advanced chat privacy is enabled. Advanced chat privacy is a setting that prevents people you chat with from posting content outside WhatsApp. This can prevent the chat from being exported, Meta AI from being enabled or media from being downloaded automatically; WhatsApp tells DroidApp.
In short, WhatsApp thus indicates that it cannot read your entire chat stream; contrary to what RTL News indicates. Only what you share directly with Meta AI can be indexed.
Reading tip: WhatsApp tip: this is how to keep WhatsApp photos out of your gallery
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