WhatsApp Confirms How To Block Meta AI From Your Chats
Meta, Google and others have a dilemma. They need to stitch AI through their platforms, but users are understandably worried this is a privacy nightmare come true. Google has been leading the charge, but has been careful to emphasize opt outs at all times. Meta has taken a different approach with WhatsApp. AI is now there. You can't remove it. But if you don't like it, then just don't use it. Cue the backlash.
Polly Hudson summed up the mood in a Guardian column: 'There are five stages of grief, but only two stages of discovering the little Meta AI circle on your WhatsApp screen. Fear, then fury.' Meanwhile, WhatsApp assured users via BBC News that its suddenly ever-present blue circle is optional, despite being unremovable.
I do like the team at WhatsApp. My strong sense is they exist in a corporate machine but do their best to hold as true as they can to the platform's heritage. Privacy, security, simplicity. It's a private messaging machine — the world's largest, but it's owned by a marketing machine that has build an empire on harnessing user data.
And so with perfect timing and wry irony, just as the unremovable blue circle turned up on billions of phones, WhatsApp quietly confirmed the solution. Yes, you can remove, disable, stop Meta AI. You just need to do so chat by chat. The AI block is not front and center. But it's there. As has now been quietly confirmed.
"Advanced Chat Privacy," WhatsApp says 'is a new setting available in both chats and groups helps prevent others from taking content outside of WhatsApp for when you may want extra privacy. When the setting is on, you can block others from exporting chats, auto-downloading media to their phone, and using messages for AI features. That way everyone in the chat has greater confidence that no one can take what is being said outside the chat.' So, no Meta AI intruding into any of those chats. It is stopped.
Meta assures it can't see any message content, but that's perception versus reality. When you engage AI, Meta says it 'shares information with select partners so Meta Al can offer relevant responses." As such, it warns, "don't share information, including sensitive topics, about others or yourself that you don't want the Al to retain and use."
'You can turn this on by tapping the chat name,' WhatsApp explains, 'then tapping on Advanced Chat Privacy. This is the first version of this feature and we're planning to add more to it so that it will eventually include even more protections.' The privacy setting also blocks any user exporting the chat or autosaving media to their phone's gallery, which you shouldn't do anyway for security reasons.
'This new setting is rolling out to everyone on the latest version of WhatsApp.' If you're at all worried about Meta AI, then just make sure you enable this on your chats and the blue circle is stopped in its tracks. Problem solved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
5 minutes ago
- NBC News
OpenAI announces new 'study mode' product for students
OpenAI on Tuesday announced a new product within ChatGPT called 'study mode,' which aims to help students work through problems step-by-step before they arrive at an answer. As artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT have rocketed into the mainstream, educators quickly discovered that students can use the tools to cheat and avoid engaging in critical thinking. OpenAI said it built study mode as 'a first step in a longer journey to improve learning in ChatGPT.' 'When ChatGPT is prompted to teach or tutor, it can significantly improve academic performance,' Leah Belsky, vice president of education at OpenAI, said during a briefing. 'But when it's just used as an answer machine, it can hinder learning.' One in 3 college-age people are already using ChatGPT, according to OpenAI, so the company designed study mode with this demographic in mind. Students who use the product will be met with guiding questions instead of direct answers while they work through homework problems, test prep and new subject material, the company said. OpenAI released a prerecorded demo that showed how a student could use study mode for help with a homework problem. After the student submits the question, ChatGPT has them work through two different steps and submit a summary of the answer in their own words. OpenAI said it built study mode in collaboration with teachers, scientists, education experts and students who participate in its ChatGPT Lab, which is where cohorts of college students share how they are using OpenAI's tools. The company's study mode announcement comes just days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that AI could dramatically change the future of education. Altman, who dropped out of Stanford University, said his young child will 'probably not' go to college. 'I already think college is maybe not working great for most people,' Altman said during an interview on the podcast, 'This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von.' 'I think, fast forward 18 years, it's going to look like a very, very different thing.' Even so, OpenAI has still been working closely with academic institutions. The company released ChatGPT Edu last year, which is a version of the chatbot that's built specifically for universities. OpenAI said study mode is coming to ChatGPT Edu in the next few weeks, but it's available to Free, Plus, Pro and Team users starting on Tuesday.
Engadget
34 minutes ago
- Engadget
Google adds Video Overviews to NotebookLM
NotebookLM, the Google research tool that gained notoriety for its AI-generated podcasts, is introducing a feature called Video Overviews. As the name suggests, this tool automatically creates videos on requested topics and pulls data from a user's uploaded images, diagrams, quotes and documents. It's rolling out right now, but there are some caveats. These overviews are only available in English, though Google says more languages are on the way. Also, the tool doesn't make videos in a conventional sense. It creates slideshows with narration. Despite this limitation, the company says the feature is "uniquely effective for explaining data, demonstrating processes and making abstract concepts more tangible." Google also says it'll be expanding the toolset in the future, so it won't always be just a slideshow machine. Video Overviews do currently offer some handy playback options. There's the ability to skip back and forth by 10 seconds and adjust the playback speed. The company is also updating NotebookLM's Studio tab. It's getting a visual refresh, which rolls out "over the next few weeks" to all users. Google has certainly been busy iterating on the platform these past few months. It released an official NotebookLM app back in May and began offering curated "featured notebooks" earlier this month. This lets users experiment with the platform with pre-approved topics like William Shakespeare, so newbies won't have to actually upload anything. Audio-only overviews are also now available in over 50 languages.
Forbes
35 minutes ago
- Forbes
Google Pixel 6a Owners Angry After Update That ‘Killed' Phone
Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro isn't affected by the battery problem. Earleir this month, Google began rolling out its battery throttling update for Pixel 6a devices affected by a bug that has caused overheating and, in some cases, fires. Predictably, this has not gone down well with Pixel 6a owners. In a popular thread on the Google Pixel Reddit sub, the top comment summed up the community's frustration. 'It killed my battery, now I have to get a new phone. Yippee.' On another thread (there are a few), another commenter said that 'Google killed my 6A. Never had any issues with it, woke up to it refusing to charge...' If you missed the news, Google began rolling out a mandatory update on July 8th that throttles the battery of the Pixel 6a. This is in response to reports of overheating phones that surfaced earlier this year. A similar problem hit the Pixel 4a, with the update ultimately limiting the phone's battery life to a couple of hours. The new update reduces Pixel 6a battery capacity once it hits 400 charge cycles, or if the device is identified as one affected by the problem. The Search company will replace your battery for free, depending on where you live, give you a discount on a new Google phone or cash compensation. While some users have taken the opportunity to get a newer Pixel phone, some are sceptical. 'I was tempted to just go back to Samsung but decided to give Pixel another shot,' one affected Reddit user said. Others, however, are done with Google phones. 'Went for the $100 cash payment and moved to another phone and will not be looking back to Pixels for a long time.' Another repeated a common sentiment, 'yeah, no more Google for me. Only now I understand how deeply I rely on all Google products.' The issue for Google is that this isn't the first Pixel phone to suffer from battery overheating issues, which has then led to a compensation offer from the company. The Pixel 4a dealt from a similar problem, while some Pixel 7a owners complained about swollen batteries last year. Google's fix for the Pixel 4a also resulted in an update that throttled the phone's battery life. In both cases, a free battery replacement or money towards a new phone was offered. In the case of the Pixel 7a. That's a track record that doesn't inspire much trust. One Pixel 6a owner on Reddit also made a good point about Google (and Samsung's) promise of software support for seven years. It doesn't mean much if a mandatory battery throttling update—that dramatically reduces the phone's functionality—can be rolled out when a serious bug is unearthed. Essentially forcing users to upgrade. Take Advantage Of Google Pixel 6a Trade-In Deals If you're affected and willing to give Google phones another go, there are some money-saving options on the table. Google will pay out $150 store credit for affected Pixel 6a users, or $100 cash. Either could be combined with a trade-in if Google is running a decent deal. The Search company's current prices are not good, offering $75 for the Pixel 6a. But only last month, Google U.K. was paying a huge £384 ($512.46) for the budget phone. That deal has ended, but the Pixel 10 launch will almost certainly come with pre-order discounts and enhanced trade-in prices. Keep an eye on the Google Store, or hit the follow button below, to get the latest information on Google's next trade-in promotion.
