WhatsApp has announced a new incognito mode for its Meta AI chatbot, enabling users to engage in private conversations that are not visible to others and are not stored. This feature is available on both WhatsApp and the stand-alone Meta AI app.
Feature Rollout
The incognito chats will be introduced gradually over the coming months. Users can initiate a private session by clicking a new icon in one-on-one chats with Meta AI, as explained by the company in their announcement on Wednesday.
Privacy and Security
According to WhatsApp, these conversations will not be saved, with messages disappearing automatically when the chat is closed. The session also ends if the app is closed or the phone is locked, preventing Meta AI from retaining the conversation's context. Alice Newton-Rex, VP of Product at WhatsApp, emphasized the importance of allowing users to ask sensitive questions in privacy.
“People are starting to use AI for everything, including some of their most private thoughts,” said Newton-Rex. “We think it’s really important to give people the ability to ask these questions as privately as possible.”
Building on Previous Foundations
WhatsApp has been preparing for secure AI chats for some time. Last year, it introduced a private processing infrastructure to support AI features without compromising end-to-end encryption. This infrastructure supports features like AI-powered message summaries.
The new incognito chat utilizes Meta's latest Muse Spark model, released last month. Newton-Rex noted that while previous features used smaller models, this latest development benefits from the advanced capabilities of Muse Spark.
Upcoming Enhancements
Meta is also working on a new feature called Side Chat, which will allow users to ask Meta AI questions within group chats without notifying others. Currently, users must tag a message to get an answer visible to all chat participants. Side Chat aims to provide private interactions without shifting to a separate chat window.
Meta's move aligns with trends in AI privacy, as competitors like ChatGPT, Claude, DuckDuckGo, and Proton also offer privacy-first chat solutions. The importance of private AI chats is highlighted by recent legal opinions suggesting AI conversations could be used in litigation.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/13/whatsapp-adds-an-incognito-mode-in-meta-ai-chats/
