Meta on Wednesday announced a privacy-first feature for its Meta AI chatbot service as more and more users turn to the service for information instead of browsing on the web. Called the “Incognito Chat”, Meta will allow users to have private conversations with Meta AI on its standalone platform as well as on WhatsApp.
Meta said it has leveraged its proprietary Private Processing technology to faciliate private chats between its users and its generative AI model. This technology uses confidential cloud ecosystems capable of isolating the target data. This prevents even Meta from accessing the chats during processing.
“When you start an Incognito Chat with Meta AI on WhatsApp, you’re creating a private, temporary conversation that only you can see,” the company said. “Your conversations are not saved and by default, your messages disappear — giving you space to ask questions and explore ideas without anyone watching.”
The temporary nature of these chats essentially wipes the conversational slate clean once the chat threads are closed.
Meta AI has started displaying a notification before chats are initiated that informs the users that chats with its AI are encrypted as it travels from the user device to a “confidential computing environment”.
Source: Meta
Meta AI was launched in September 2023 as an AI-powered conversational assistant. It was quickly stitched across Meta’s family of apps with a standalone app being launched layer in April 2025.
The service can help users with an array of tasks including image generations, web searches, and editing photos among others. By its own claim, Meta AI is used by a billion monthly active users via WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. During Meta’s 2026 Q1 earnings, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said that Meta AI usage has clocked a surge after the launch of its Muse Spark model.
A major hurdle for AI adoption so far has stemmed is the fear that personal data will be used to train future models. With Incognito Chats, Meta is attempting to set a new bar for the privacy standards of AI assistants.
Meta AI rivals like Google Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT have, up until now, been giving users the options turn off their chat histories. What Meta is doing is aligning its AI endeavour with its encryption legacy and integrate a zero-knowledge element into Meta AI.
“Incognito Chat with Meta AI is rolling out on WhatsApp and the Meta AI app over the coming months,” the announcement noted.
