Be careful! AI may use your WhatsApp content

A few days ago, my friend Fadhil al Rassady, who is passionate about technology and the latest gadgets, called me to share a new AI-related feature on WhatsApp. It immediately caught my attention. I decided to learn more. The more I read, the more I realised there is a privacy risk many people may not be aware of. Although end-to-end encryption protects our private WhatsApp chats, Meta AI may use our interactions to enhance future AI systems. That was enough to make me review my settings and that is the reason for this week's article.
For years, we have shared photos, messages and ideas online without giving much thought to how our digital content might be used. Today, artificial intelligence is changing that reality.
AI systems become smarter by learning from information, patterns and user interactions. Technology companies continue to improve their AI models to deliver more intelligent, personalised and useful experiences. As AI becomes integrated into almost every application we use, understanding privacy settings is becoming just as important as knowing how to use the technology itself.
Recently, WhatsApp introduced AI-related features that raise important questions about privacy and content ownership.
The first is Meta AI within WhatsApp. It functions as a virtual assistant that can answer questions, summarise conversations, generate images and help users write or brainstorm ideas. If you choose to interact with Meta AI, those conversations may be used to improve future AI experiences, depending on your settings and Meta's policies. Meta states that your regular WhatsApp conversations are not automatically used to train AI and remain protected by end-to-end encryption. While that provides reassurance today, users should continue reviewing their privacy settings as AI capabilities evolve.
The second relates to AI content creation and sharing. Meta has introduced controls that allow users to manage how content may be used in AI-generated experiences. As AI becomes increasingly capable of creating realistic images, videos and other digital content, it is important to understand how your online presence and shared content may be reused.
For that, it is important that you review your settings if you wish to know whether your content is open for Meta (the company that owns WhatsApp) to utilise.
1. Update WhatsApp to the latest version.
2. Open Settings.
3. Review the available Meta AI, privacy, or AI-related options.
4. Verify whether your interactions with Meta AI can be used to improve AI models.
5. Disable any available options if you do not wish to contribute your AI interactions.
6. Review Meta's Sharing and Reuse settings and disable options that allow content to be used for AI-generated creations.
Spending a few minutes reviewing your settings gives you greater control over your digital footprint.
To conclude my article this week, let me emphasise that artificial intelligence is undoubtedly one of the most transformative technologies of our time, creating unprecedented opportunities across education, healthcare, business and innovation.
However, as AI becomes deeply integrated into our daily lives, digital awareness should not be optional but become a new form of privacy protection. Understanding the settings, the permissions and the content we choose to share empowers us to embrace AI with confidence while safeguarding our digital identity. After all, the future is not about fearing AI. It is about using it wisely and making informed choices. Until we catch up again next week, stay informed and stay vigilant.