On Wednesday, WhatsApp introduced a novel feature powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that summarizes messages for users. Named Message Summaries, this tool utilizes Meta AI to assist individuals in catching up on unread messages. According to Meta, the feature employs a technology known as Private Processing, which ensures that messages remain unread by anyone in the chat, including Meta itself. Additionally, WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy allows users to select specific messages for summarization.
Message Summaries on WhatsApp
WhatsApp provided details about the Message Summaries feature in a recent blog post. This option is available for both individual and group chats, and it is completely voluntary, with the feature disabled by default. Users can generate summaries in a bulleted list format by tapping the Unread messages icon within a chat.
The summarized message window indicates that the content is “visible only to you” and is protected by the Private Processing technology, according to WhatsApp. This setup allows Meta AI to formulate responses without the chatbot accessing any messages or AI-generated summaries.
Initially, Message Summaries are being rolled out to users in the United States, with support for the English language. The company plans to expand the feature to cover additional languages and regions later this year.
How It Works
Meta, WhatsApp’s parent organization, elaborated that Private Processing constitutes a computing infrastructure that operates on the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). This security measure facilitates private interactions with the AI chatbot within a secure cloud setting, utilizing a threat model based on three foundational principles.
The first principle is confidential processing, which ensures that Private Processing is designed to prevent any first or third party from accessing user data during processing or while it is being transmitted to the computing infrastructure.
The second principle involves enforceable guarantees. In cases where a threat actor attempts to alter the confidentiality assurances, the system will either shut down to stop further operations, or produce modifications that can be verified publicly, fulfilling the requirement for transparency—the third foundational principle.
Moreover, the foundational requirements demand that both users and security researchers have the ability to audit Private Processing, validating the security and privacy claims made by Meta. Other core aspects of Private Processing on WhatsApp include non-targetability, stateless processing, and forward security, which provide additional layers of protection.
