Meta has introduced a new feature for WhatsApp aimed at providing a private way to engage with Meta AI, known as “Private Processing.” This optional feature will be rolled out in the upcoming weeks, and interactions using it will remain confidential—meaning that neither Meta, WhatsApp, nor any third-party companies will have access to them, as stated in their announcement.
According to Meta, users will be able to instruct the AI to process specific requests, such as generating summaries of chat conversations, through Private Processing. Once the session concludes, the system will not retain any access to user messages, ensuring that these messages cannot be retrieved by potential attackers later on.
Meta is focused on safeguarding users by preventing attacks that could occur without compromising the entire system. The company also aims to allow independent third parties to audit the functionality of Private Processing to verify its privacy and security claims. This feature is now incorporated into Meta’s bug bounty program, and the company has committed to publishing a comprehensive security engineering design paper closer to its launch.
The architecture of Private Processing shares similarities with Apple’s Private Cloud Compute (PCC). Like Apple, Meta intends to route requests through a third-party provider using OHTTP, a protocol designed to protect users’ IP addresses. However, as noted by Wired, an important distinction is that all AI requests on WhatsApp are processed on Meta’s servers and users must actively initiate Private Processing. In contrast, Apple typically processes AI tasks on-device by default but switches to PCC when requests require server interaction.
