Meta announced Wednesday that it is adding artificial intelligence-powered message summaries to WhatsApp, giving users in the United States the ability to quickly catch up on unread conversations without scrolling through lengthy chat histories.
The optional feature uses Meta AI to generate brief summaries of unread messages in both individual and group chats, with the company emphasizing that neither Meta nor WhatsApp can access users' messages or the AI-generated summaries themselves.
The new capability relies on what Meta calls "Private Processing" technology, which processes messages in secure cloud environments without storing user data or linking it to individual accounts12. "Message Summaries uses Private Processing technology, which allows Meta AI to generate a response without Meta or WhatsApp ever seeing your messages or the private summaries," the company said in a blog post1.
The feature appears as a "Summarize privately" banner above unread messages and must be manually activated by users34. It remains disabled by default, and users can exclude specific chats from AI processing through Advanced Chat Privacy settings54.
Wednesday's announcement builds on Meta's broader integration of AI across its platforms, following the April release of Private Processing technology that enabled AI features without compromising WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption12. The company previously launched Meta AI capabilities in WhatsApp that allowed users to ask general questions but could not read message content1.
According to TechCrunch, Meta initially plans to expand the feature to additional countries and languages later this year1. The summarization tool joins other AI features Meta has rolled out across Facebook and Instagram in 2025, including post suggestions and image editing capabilities3.
The launch comes amid continued user concerns about Meta AI's integration into WhatsApp, with some users expressing frustration over the AI chatbot's presence in the messaging app12. Critics, including AI privacy advisor Dr. Kris Shrishak, have questioned Meta's data collection practices and the mandatory nature of some AI features1.
"Companies are recognizing that privacy is becoming a competitive advantage," a digital rights advocate told Technori, noting increased user concern about how personal data is used in AI interactions3.
The message summarization feature represents Meta's attempt to balance AI functionality with privacy protections, as the company faces regulatory scrutiny over data practices while competing with other AI-powered messaging tools31.
