WhatsApp is using Meta AI to read your group chats, but your messages are still private

WhatsApp has introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature designed to help users catch up on unread messages more efficiently. Dubbed "Message Summaries", the feature is powered by Meta AI and aims to provide users with quick, private overviews of missed conversations in both individual and group chats.

According to WhatsApp, the optional feature uses a new privacy-preserving framework called “Private Processing”, which ensures that neither Meta nor WhatsApp can access the content of the messages or the summaries generated. The summaries are presented in a bullet-point format and are marked as “visible only to you”, reinforcing the privacy-first approach.

The company said Message Summaries are particularly useful in busy group chats, where users often find it difficult to scroll through long threads of unread texts. The AI-generated summaries allow users to view a concise snapshot of the conversation without opening or reading each individual message.

The feature is disabled by default and must be manually enabled by the user. When activated, eligible chats will show a small icon indicating that a summary is available. Summaries are generated locally on the user’s device and are never sent to external servers, as part of the Private Processing protocol.

Private Processing is Meta’s confidential computing infrastructure, similar to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, and is built on a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). It is designed around several core principles, including confidential data processing, enforceable guarantees against tampering, and transparency. If an attempt is made to alter the system’s security assurances, the system will either shut down or make the tampering publicly verifiable. The framework also supports independent auditing to verify Meta’s privacy claims and is built to be non-targetable, stateless, and forward secure.

Advanced Chat Privacy settings allow users to customise which chats are eligible for AI summaries. No other participants in the chat will be notified if the summary feature is used.

Message Summaries are currently rolling out to users in the United States with support for the English language. Meta says the feature will expand to more languages and regions in the coming months, as part of its broader effort to integrate AI tools across its platforms.