'Completely private': Meta AI gets Incognito Chat
Mashable • • technology
Key Points:
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the upcoming Incognito Chat feature for Meta AI and WhatsApp, which offers users a private interaction mode where conversations are not logged or stored on servers, similar to end-to-end encryption.
- Conversations in Incognito Chat vanish after the session ends, ensuring that neither Meta nor WhatsApp can access or review the chat content, enhancing user privacy but raising concerns about safety and intervention in crisis situations.
- The feature is intended for users aged 18 and older, with age verification prompts and additional measures where legally required, but critics express concern over Meta's ability to effectively enforce age restrictions and protect minors.
- Safety concerns include the inability to detect or respond to conversations indicating self-harm, suicide, or violence, as Incognito Chat prevents Meta from reviewing messages that might otherwise trigger human intervention or safeguards.
- Meta stated it has safeguards to refuse harmful prompts and temporarily block users who submit such content, but the new privacy measures contrast with ongoing legal scrutiny faced by AI companies like OpenAI and Google over AI-related harm and liability.