Privacy guide

Is Meta AI private? What Meta keeps

Meta keeps your Meta AI chats, can use them to train its AI and, depending on your region, to personalize content and ads, and may have people review them. Incognito chats in the Meta AI app and WhatsApp use Private Processing, which Meta says it can't access, and by default they're gone once you exit.

Checked against the provider’s own help pages. We make Bearly, which this guide also covers.

Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, and more in one app, with a Zero Data Retention setting.

Meta AI app or Meta AI in WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook?

Meta AI is one assistant in several places: the Meta AI app and meta.ai, and chats inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Meta's AI terms cover AI features "through any Meta Product," and Meta uses those chats as its Privacy Policy describes. (Meta AIs Terms of Service)

The controls differ by app:

  • The Meta AI app has its privacy controls under Settings > Data & privacy, including Incognito chat. (Meta Help Center)
  • WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger use chat commands to delete Meta's copy of your AI chats. In WhatsApp, deleting the chat in the app isn't enough. (Meta Privacy Center)

What Meta keeps

Meta AI keeps what you send it and uses it beyond answering you. Here is what Meta's own pages say.

What What Meta says Source
Your chats Meta receives your prompts, the messages you share with Meta AI, and your feedback. "When information is shared with AIs, the AIs will sometimes retain and use that information." WhatsApp FAQ; Meta AI terms
How long it's kept Meta doesn't publish a retention period for Meta AI chats. It keeps training data "for as long as we need it on a case-by-case basis." Meta Privacy Center
Training Your interactions with AI features, such as messages to AI chats and images you ask for, can be used to train AI models. Meta also trains on public posts, photos, captions and comments. Meta Privacy Center; Meta Privacy Center
Ads and personalization Depending on your region, your Meta AI chats can be used to personalize the content and ads you see. Meta AI also uses your location and profile details such as age, gender and interests to personalize its answers. Meta Help Center; Meta Newsroom
Human review Meta may review your conversations with its AIs, automatically or by people, and sometimes through third-party vendors. Meta AI terms
Incognito chat Only you can see it, Meta can't access it, and by default it isn't saved after you exit. Meta Help Center; WhatsApp FAQ
Sharing A shared link lets anyone who has it see the conversation, and it doesn't expire. Videos you post to the feed are public. If Meta AI can't answer, Meta sends your messages and your region to select partners such as search engines. Meta Help Center; Meta Help Center; Meta AI terms
Deletion Deleting messages, threads or even your account may not delete Meta's copy. In WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, a reset command deletes the AI's copy. Meta AI terms; Meta Privacy Center

Make Meta AI more private, step by step

These steps use the labels from Meta's and WhatsApp's help pages for personal accounts.

1. Use Incognito chat for anything sensitive

In the Meta AI app, tap Menu in the top left, tap Incognito chat at the top, then type your prompt in Ask Meta AI privately…. Meta says only you can see the chat, Meta can't access it, and it isn't saved or shown in your history after you exit. Incognito chats can't be shared. (Meta Help Center)

In WhatsApp, open your chat with Meta AI and start an Incognito chat from there; it's only on some devices so far. The chat disappears when you exit unless you change Settings to 1 hour after I exit or Never, and then it's saved only on your device. (WhatsApp FAQ)

Incognito chats still search the web by default, sending a search query based on your prompt to select search engines without connecting it to your account. To stop that in the app, go to Settings > Data & privacy > Incognito chat and turn off Web search for Incognito chat. (Meta Help Center)

2. Delete Meta's copy of your chats in WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger

In a chat with Meta AI, type /reset-ai to delete the AI's copy of that chat, or /reset-all-ais to reset every AI chat on that app, group chats included. You keep your own copy of the messages. In WhatsApp, deleting a chat in the app only removes it from your phone, so use the command. (Meta Privacy Center; WhatsApp FAQ)

3. Delete your chats in the Meta AI app

Tap Menu in the top left, tap Settings in the bottom left, then under App settings tap Data & privacy > Manage your information > Delete all chats and media > Delete all. Your chats, prompts and media leave the History and Media sections. Public vibes you posted stay up until you choose Remove all public vibes on the same screen. (Meta Help Center)

4. Remove share links and public posts

To delete a link you shared, tap Menu, open the conversation under Chats, tap Menu in the top right, then Delete link. People who had the link can no longer see the conversation, and the original chat stays. (Meta Help Center)

AI videos you post to the feed are public: they show in Feed, on your profile and in search results, and other people can remix them. To take one down, open it from your profile, tap Menu, then Remove from feed. (Meta Help Center; Meta Help Center)

5. Keep your posts off Public

Meta trains on public profile information, posts and comments, and says it doesn't use information with an audience other than Public for this. Sharing posts with a smaller audience keeps them out. (Meta Privacy Center)

How to opt out of Meta AI training

Meta's help pages don't describe a setting that turns off training on your Meta AI chats. What they do offer:

  • Incognito chat, which Meta says it can't access.
  • Reset commands that delete Meta's copy of your AI chats in WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
  • Keeping posts off Public, since Meta says it doesn't train on posts with any other audience.
  • An objection, if you live in the EU or UK. Under EU and UK data protection law, you can ask Meta to stop processing your data for a purpose that relies on legitimate interests. Use the Privacy Rights Request channel and choose How can I object to the use of my information. Meta assesses each objection and can deny it. (Meta Help Center)

If you don't use Meta's apps, Meta may still train on information about you, such as a photo someone else posts. In the US, its form for that only lets you report your personal information appearing in a Meta AI answer, and Meta doesn't fulfill requests automatically. (Meta Privacy Center; Meta)

Is Meta AI in WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted?

Your personal chats are. Your regular chats with Meta AI aren't private from Meta. WhatsApp says: "Only messages that mention @Meta AI, or that people choose to share with Meta AI, can be read by Meta. Meta can't read any other messages in your personal chats." It adds: "As always, your personal messages and calls are protected with end-to-end encryption, meaning no one outside of the chat, not even WhatsApp or Meta, can read, listen to, or share them." (WhatsApp FAQ)

The exception is features that use Private Processing, such as Incognito chats with Meta AI. WhatsApp says these let Meta AI answer "while ensuring no one, not even WhatsApp or Meta, can see your prompts or Meta AI's response." (WhatsApp FAQ)

Can you turn off Meta AI in WhatsApp?

WhatsApp doesn't publish a way to remove Meta AI. It says using Meta AI is "completely optional" and that Meta AI only receives what you or someone in a chat sends it. (WhatsApp)

To keep it out of a particular chat, turn on Restricted chat: tap the chat, tap its name, tap Restricted chat and turn it on. Then no one in that chat can use Meta AI features in it. In a group, only admins can change this. (WhatsApp FAQ)

What these settings don't change

  • Meta still handles every regular chat you send Meta AI. The settings above apply after Meta has received it.
  • Deleting may not delete everything. Meta's terms say deleting messages, threads, or your account may not delete its copy. (Meta)
  • Your Meta AI chats can shape your ads. Depending on your region, Meta uses them to personalize content and ads. Meta says it doesn't use topics such as health, religion, sexual orientation or political views from those chats to show ads. (Meta)
  • Other people's posts can include you. Meta may train on a photo or caption about you that someone else shares publicly. (Meta)
  • Meta asks you to hold back. Its terms say: "Do not share information that you don't want the AIs to use and retain, such as information about sensitive topics." (Meta)

Use AI through Bearly with zero data retention

If you want privacy on every chat without remembering to switch modes, there's another option: use AI models in a different app that runs them with zero data retention. Bearly is one of those apps. We make it, so weigh this section with that in mind.

Bearly gives you Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, and more in one app. With ZDR mode on, every chat model you can pick runs with zero data retention. That means the provider running the model doesn't keep your prompt or the answer once it has finished processing them. Our AI proxy doesn't store your prompts or the answers either. Bearly doesn't train AI models on your chats, has no ads, and doesn't sell your data.

To turn it on:

  1. In Bearly, open your account menu at the bottom of the sidebar and choose App Settings.
  2. Select Privacy & Security.
  3. Turn on Zero Data Retention only.
  4. Start a chat and choose a model from the model picker.

With the setting on, the picker shows only zero-retention models, and automatic fallbacks stay on them too. Each model carries a ZDR badge. The setting belongs to your account, so it follows you to your other devices. (Bearly docs: zero data retention)

What it covers: the models that write chat replies. Web search, image generation, voice, and memory run separately. Web search sends the provider your query, never your name, account, or IP address. Image search runs on a provider that keeps nothing after it answers. Your chats are still saved in your Bearly history so you can come back to them. In the same pane, select Set up end-to-end encryption, and new chats are encrypted on your devices; we store and sync only the locked copies.

Questions people ask

Is Meta AI safe to use?

Meta AI keeps your chats, can use them to train its models and, depending on your region, to personalize ads, and people at Meta may review them. Incognito chat in the Meta AI app and WhatsApp is the most private way to use it, since Meta says it can't access those chats.

Is it safe to have Meta AI on WhatsApp?

Meta AI only sees what you or someone in the chat sends it, such as a message that mentions @Meta AI. Your other WhatsApp messages stay end-to-end encrypted, but Meta can read what you send Meta AI in a regular chat and may use it to improve its AI.

How do I stop Meta from using my data for AI?

Use Incognito chat, type /reset-ai or /reset-all-ais to delete Meta's copy of your AI chats, and share posts with an audience other than Public, which Meta says it doesn't use for training. In the EU and UK you can also object through Meta's Privacy Rights Request channel.

Can I remove Meta AI from WhatsApp?

WhatsApp doesn't offer a way to remove it, but Meta AI only gets messages you choose to send it. Turn on Restricted chat in a chat to stop anyone there from using Meta AI features.

Can other people see my Meta AI chats?

Not unless you share them. A shared link lets anyone who has it see the conversation until you delete the link, and videos you post to the feed are public.

Related

Sources

All checked November 11, 2026.

Try ZDR mode on your next question.

Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, and more in one app. Turn on Zero Data Retention only in Settings, then pick a model.

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