Ditching Meta AI from Your WhatsApp Chats: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Author: Malte Mansholt
- Est. Reading Time: - 2 Min
"WhatsApp's Implemented Meta AI: Guide to Deactivate the Blue AI Assistant" - Dismantling Meta's AI Integration in WhatsApp: Guidelines for Deactivating the Blue Artificial Intelligence Agent
Got a pestering blue ring in your WhatsApp chats? That's the small but mighty Meta AI bot, now available to German and other users. This AI assistant helps with searches, writes texts, and answers questions. But what if you want to get rid of this virtual pal? Here's the lowdown on how to do just that.
Kicking Meta AI Out of Your WhatsApp Chat
Unfortunately, you can't turn off Meta AI completely. There's no option to do so in the settings or in the chat with the bot. However, you can take steps to avoid conversing with the bot.
Blocking the Bot:
- Getting the AI Chat in Sight: Open WhatsApp, locate the Meta AI chat, and tap on the blue ring to open the chat.
- Silencing the Bot: Tap on the name at the top edge, and you'll see the settings for this chat, just like with a human chat partner. Choose the "Mute" option to hide the chatbot for a certain time or permanently.
By muting the bot, you won't see the chat in your chat list. However, the blue ring will still appear in the chat overview. The advantage of muting over simply ignoring the bot is that if someone adds the bot to a group chat, it will also be muted for you there.
Meta AI Controversy with the EU
The delayed arrival of Meta AI in Europe is due to privacy concerns from the EU, which had to be addressed. Meta has assured that data from chats is not used to train the AI—except for the data you directly send to the AI bot. Compared to the US, the usage scope is limited, as features like automatically transcribing voice messages and summarizing long group chats are not available.
Privacy Tips for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook
As of now, there's no complete toggle to disable Meta AI, but minimizing interactions and optimizing privacy settings can help manage its impact.
On WhatsApp:
- Hide Meta AI: For Android users: Open WhatsApp, long press the Meta AI chat, and choose "Delete" or "Archive". For iPhone users: Swipe left on the Meta AI chat and choose "Delete" or "Archive". While this hides the AI chat, the blue icon may still appear in the search bar[3].
- Avoid Talking to Meta AI: To further reduce its influence, avoid starting conversations with the AI and mentioning it in chats[3].
On Instagram and Facebook:
- Submit an Objection: Go to the Privacy Center in your Meta account settings and submit an objection under "AI at Meta".
- Limit Your Data Exposure: Review your privacy settings to limit the data shared and used by Meta AI.
[3] Source: Meta
- AI
- Artificial Intelligence
- The Commission has also been involved in the preparation of the draft directive regarding the use of technology in messaging applications, as they have privacy concerns about Meta AI's usage scope, particularly in Europe.
- Despite the limited features of Meta AI in Europe compared to the US, technology advances continue to play a significant role in the development and deployment of AI assistants like Meta AI, allowing them to perform tasks such as searches, writing texts, and answering questions within WhatsApp chats.
