MENLO PARK, California: Meta Platforms is introducing a new "Incognito Chat" feature for its artificial intelligence assistant on WhatsApp, aiming to address privacy concerns as more users turn to AI for sensitive conversations.

The company said that the feature will use private processing technology designed to ensure conversations remain inaccessible to anyone, including Meta itself.

"Your conversations are not saved, and by default, your messages disappear, giving you a space to think and explore ideas without anyone watching," Meta said in a blog post.

The move comes as people increasingly use AI assistants to discuss personal, financial, health and work-related issues, raising questions about how those interactions are stored and used.

"We're starting to ask a lot of meaningful questions about our lives with AI systems. It doesn't always feel like you should have to share the information behind those questions with the companies that run those AI systems," said Will Cathcart during a media briefing.

According to Meta, messages users share directly with Meta AI may be used to improve the company's AI models.

However, personal conversations between WhatsApp users remain protected by end-to-end encryption and are not available to Meta for that purpose.

For now, Incognito Chat will support text-only interactions, meaning users will not be able to upload images.

Cathcart said the feature will also include safety guardrails that can refuse to answer problematic questions or redirect conversations when necessary.

Meta said it plans to introduce another feature, called "Side Chat," in the coming months.

That tool will allow users to seek private assistance from Meta AI within any existing WhatsApp conversation.