Meta has announced a new privacy-focused feature for WhatsApp called “Private Processing,” designed to offer users a secure way to interact with Meta AI.
The optional feature is set to roll out in the coming weeks and, according to Meta, ensures that neither Meta, WhatsApp, nor any third party can view these interactions.
With Private Processing, users can request things like AI-generated chat summaries while maintaining complete privacy. Once a session ends, Meta says it does not retain access to user messages, reducing the risk of data exposure even in the event of a breach.
Meta is also taking steps to allow third-party audits of the feature to verify its security claims. “We want to ensure that independent third parties can audit the behavior of Private Processing,” the company said. The feature has already been added to Meta’s bug bounty program and will be detailed further in an upcoming security design paper.
The concept is similar to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute (PCC), but with key differences. While Apple defaults to on-device processing and only uses PCC for server-side tasks, Meta handles all AI requests on its servers. Private Processing must be manually activated by users, and requests are routed via a third-party provider using Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) to mask IP addresses.
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