{“lastseen”:”2026-05-15T14:05:07″,”description”:”Recent news had us wondering whether Meta actually knows what it wants.\\n\\nOn one platform, Meta is promoting AI chats that it says even it cannot read. On another, it has removed one of the few features that genuinely prevented Meta from accessing private conversations.\\n\\n\\u003e \\”Meta removed support for end-to-end encrypted chats from Instagram as of May 8, 2026.\\”\\n\\n\\u003e \\”Meta adds fully private AI chats to WhatsApp.\\”\\n\\nAt the moment, Meta is heavily promoting a new Incognito Chat mode for its Meta AI assistant in WhatsApp, built on top of a system it calls Private Processing. According to WhatsApp\u2019s own announcement, Incognito Chat is:\\n\\n\\u003e \u201cTruly private \u2014 no one can read your conversation, not even us.\u201d\\n\\nWhen you start an Incognito chat with Meta AI, you get a temporary conversation where messages aren\u2019t saved and disappear by default, which Meta pitches as \u201ca space to think and explore ideas without anyone watching.\u201d\\n\\nBBC News and others report that these AI chats are text\u2011only for now, run in a sandboxed environment, and are separate from your regular end\u2011to\u2011end encrypted (E2EE) messaging with other people on WhatsApp. \\n\\nMeta is also preparing \u201cSide Chat,\u201d which will let you invoke Meta AI inside other WhatsApp chats, again using this Private Processing infrastructure to claim AI assistance without breaking the underlying encryption.\\n\\nOn paper, that\u2019s an impressive technical and marketing story: powerful AI, wrapped in layers of privacy\u2011preserving infrastructure, added to an app that already has a strong reputation for end\u2011to\u2011end encryption by default.\\n\\n## Meanwhile, on Instagram\u2026\\n\\nNow contrast that with what\u2019s happening on Instagram. On 8 May 2026, Meta removed optional end\u2011to\u2011end encryption for Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) entirely. Users who had previously turned the feature on were shown notices that \u201cend\u2011to\u2011end encrypted messaging on Instagram is no longer supported as of 8 May 2026,\u201d and were urged to download backups of their encrypted conversations before the cutoff.\\n\\nEnd\u2011to\u2011end encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient can read their conversations. Instagram offered this as an opt\u2011in feature since late 2023, but it was buried several taps deep inside individual conversation settings and never turned on by default. Meta\u2019s explanation for shutting it down is that \u201cvery few people\u201d used encrypted DMs and that maintaining a separate encrypted system added complexity. Critics have pointed out the circular logic. The company hid the feature, did not advertise it, and is now using low adoption as the reason to kill it rather than, say, making it easier to find or turning it on by default.\\n\\n## What all this means\\n\\nFrom a user\u2019s perspective, the result is confusing: one Meta product introduces stronger privacy than ever for AI chats, while another removes the one feature that truly stopped Meta from reading your conversations.\\n\\nThe key point to remember here is that \u201cincognito\u201d and \u201cprivate\u201d are marketing words, while end\u2011to\u2011end encryption is a technical guarantee.\\n\\nFor security\u2011conscious users, this split personality means you can no longer treat all Meta chats the same. WhatsApp remains end\u2011to\u2011end encrypted for person\u2011to\u2011person messages and adds optional privacy features around its AI, while Instagram DMs should now be assumed readable by Meta and potentially accessible to law enforcement, advertisers, or attackers who gain access to Meta\u2019s systems.\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n\\n\\n### **To boldly browse, away from prying eyes.** \\n\\nTRY OUR ULTRA-FAST VPN\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n## Why make AI chats private?\\n\\nWe’ve seen that AI chats have suddenly turned up in search results without users’ knowledge. So there definitely is a positive side to this new feature.\\n\\nWe also know there have been lawsuits against chatbot providers in cases where the outcome of an AI conversation led to very undesirable results. But how would you be able to provide evidence when messages auto-disappear?\\n\\n## How to proceed\\n\\nMeta\u2019s recent moves show that strong privacy features can be added where they support a strategic narrative and removed where they conflict with business or regulatory priorities. Users can\u2019t control those decisions, but they can respond by choosing where they hold their most sensitive conversations and by assuming that if a chat isn\u2019t end\u2011to\u2011end encrypted by default, it is ultimately readable by someone other than the people in it.\\n\\nSo, what\u2019s a safe way to move forward?\\n\\n * **Treat Instagram DMs as postcard-level privacy.** Now that E2EE is gone, assume Meta can read and scan your messages and that content could be accessed under legal orders or in a breach. Do not send passwords, recovery codes, banking details, or compromising photos over Instagram.\\n * **When someone asks you to move a conversation to Signal, WhatsApp, or another E2EE messenger, ask them why.** It does make sense when you\u2019re sharing financial details, personal images, health information, or anything you would not want a platform provider to read. But sometimes scammers prefer encrypted platforms too, because they’re harder to monitor.\\n * **Do not confuse \u201cincognito\u201d AI chats with full encryption.** WhatsApp\u2019s Incognito mode for Meta AI may be a privacy improvement over standard cloud AI chats, but it is still a conversation with a large language model owned by the same company that runs the platform. Share only what you\u2019re comfortable entrusting to Meta.\\n * **Regularly review your privacy and security settings.** Check which devices are logged in, enable two\u2011factor authentication, and verify which of your chat apps are actually end\u2011to\u2011end encrypted by default.\\n\\n\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n**Scammers know more about you than you think.** \\n\\nMalwarebytes Mobile Security protects you from phishing, scam texts, malicious sites, and more. With real-time AI-powered Scam Guard built right in. \\n\\nDownload for iOS \u2192 Download for Android \u2192”,”published”:”2026-05-15T12:34:15″,”modified”:”2026-05-15T12:34:15″,”type”:”malwarebytes”,”title”:”Meta\u2019s confusing new approach to chat privacy”,”source”:””,”references”:””,”id”:”MALWAREBYTES:0EBFBEBA3FE059126E8DB76BB934D2F6″,”bulletinFamily”:”blog”,”cwe”:null,”cvelist”:[],”sourceData”:””,”sourceHref”:””,”cvss”:{“score”:0,”severity”:”NONE”,”vector”:”NONE”,”version”:”NONE”},”cvss2″:{},”cvss3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””,”cvssV3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””}},”href”:”https:\/\/www.malwarebytes.com\/blog\/news\/2026\/05\/metas-confusing-new-approach-to-chat-privacy”,”category_name”:”News”,”post_link”:””,”product”:””,”version”:””,”vendor”:””,”ai_description”:””,”ai_severity”:””,”ai_vendor”:””,”ai_product”:””,”ai_version”:””,”ai_score”:0}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
{“lastseen”:”2026-05-15T14:05:07″,”description”:”Recent news had us wondering whether Meta actually knows what it wants.\\n\\nOn one platform, Meta is promoting AI chats that it says even it cannot…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,8,12,115,13,33,7,11,5],"class_list":["post-54842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-category_news","tag-cve","tag-cvss","tag-exploit","tag-malwarebytes","tag-news","tag-none","tag-security","tag-tapic","tag-vulnerability"],"yoast_head":"\n