WhatsApp plans to add even MORE AI tools - despite users threatening to delete their accounts after Meta added 'annoying' AI button
But not to be deterred, the popular Meta-owned chat platform is planning on introducing yet more artificial intelligence tools.
WhatsApp will provide AI-powered writing suggestions and message summaries under a new suite of tools called 'Private Processing'.
Expected to be made available in the coming weeks, it will transform WhatsApp further from a simple chat app to a ChatGPT-style hub for AI facts and advice.
Meta promises not to secretly read your WhatsApp chats with the AI.
However, it appears that some people are not convinced.
On X (Twitter), one person said: 'They can clearly read your messages, it's a logic fail to say otherwise. Meta AI can read messages (NEEDS TO) in order to work in group chats.'
The company has already caused controversy over using data from its users to train Meta AI - some without their knowledge.
Meta promises not to secretly read your WhatsApp chats with the AI - but some people are not convinced
Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cyber security expert at NordVPN, thinks adding more AI tools to WhatsApp could affect user privacy.
That's because data from a user's message to the AI needs to be processed on external servers rather than 'locally' on their smartphone.
Meta insists this doesn't allow third-parties to read your conversations with the bot, but Warmenhoven called it 'still a compromise'.
'Any time data leaves your device – no matter how securely – it introduces new risks,' he told the Telegraph.
'WhatsApp has clearly worked to reduce those risks, but it's a balancing act between user demand for smart features and the foundational promise of end-to-end encryption.'
WhatsApp introduced its Meta AI button in March, which appears as a purple-blue ring icon on the right-hand side of the chats page, just above the green button to start new chats.
When users tap the Meta AI button, they can start personal chats with the chatbot or ask questions about anything from news to weather and sports.
' Meta AI through WhatsApp is an optional service from Meta that can answer your questions, teach you something, or help come up with new ideas,' Meta said.
On WhatsApp, users can start a chat with Meta AI by tapping the purple-blue icon - but many have been doing so accidentally, saying the button gets in the way
Meta's new AI button is generally going down badly with users, with people describing it as 'annoying' and 'rubbish'
People are accidentally pressing the button when they're tapping at chats
What is Meta AI?
Meta AI is the company's chatbot and answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
Across Meta apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, people can tap a blue-purple ring icon to start a conversation with the bot.
The free, optional service can answer your questions, teach you something, or help come up with new ideas, according to Meta.
But users have claimed that the 'annoying' button gets in the way – often accidentally being pressed when they're instead trying to tap on a chat.
One user vented on X: 'Okay, how do I get rid of Meta AI in WhatsApp? The button is constantly hovering in the way and I will never ever use it.'
Another posted: 'God I f***ing hate AI, now my WhatsApp has this f***ing AI button I cant remove, I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT.'
While another joked: 'Can you remove that AI button from WhatsApp please before I throw my phone into the [Manchester] Ship Canal.'
Alternatively, WhatsApp users can type '@MetaAI' to introduce the chatbot into their existing chat conversation with someone – to settle a debate for example.
Meta AI is also available on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram where it can similarly be accessed by tapping the blue-purple ring icon.
WhatsApp users can't get rid of the Meta AI button – but the company has told users that it's optional and they don't have to use it.
'We think giving people these options is a good thing and we're always listening to feedback from our users,' it said.
Meta – the company owned by Facebook founder Ma rk Zuckerberg – has also revealed it's releasing a standalone app for Meta AI.
Meta has already caused controversy for admitting to training the chatbot with user data – in many countries without people knowing.
In emails and notifications sent to UK users, Meta said it's using posts, comments, photos and even captions to help develop the human-like 'generative AI', akin to ChatGPT.
Meta is taking user data from other users worldwide as well but due to local privacy laws isn't having to tell people about it.
WHAT DOES META AI DO AND IS IT SAFE?
Meta says the tool can be used for 'just about anything', from how-to tips, game ideas, lunch recipes and finding out the latest football scores.
For example, you could say 'give me some vegetarian dinner party recipe ideas' and it will respond in a similar style to ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
If you tell Meta AI what exactly is in your fridge, it will suggest meal ideas – helping you avoid going out to the shops to buy more ingredients.
If you're cramming for an exam, you could ask it, 'summarize the history of the universe' or 'quiz me on the structure of a cell'.
Or if you're conducting an online test from home, you could potentially get it to quickly give you the answer you can't quite remember off the top of your head.
Meta admits that your history with the chatbot will be saved – although it says you can delete an old conversation with Meta AI at any time.
Social media consultant Rhea Freeman said she will use the tool because she doesn't think it will give Meta any additional insights into our private lives, compared to what the firm already knows.
'Meta knows a lot about users of its platforms anyway, and it's naïve of us to think otherwise,' Freeman told MailOnline.
'The fact we're served personalised ads show how much the platform knows.
'I use Facebook and Instagram so I feel like they won't be learning a lot more about me through my use of it.'
Freeman acknowledged that AI chatbots often get things wrong, but said people 'need to remember that AI is learning all the time'.
In the US, which has already had it for several months, the New York Times described it as 'fun to use' but added that it 'can't be trusted'.
'It makes lots of mistakes when you treat it as a search engine,' the review said.
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