Meta Launches 'Incognito' Mode for WhatsApp AI Chats That Leaves No Trace or Access for Company or User

Meta Platforms is introducing an incognito mode for WhatsApp that allows users to hold private conversations with its Meta AI chatbot. The mode processes messages in a secure environment that even Meta cannot access, the company said Wednesday. Incognito chat messages will not be saved by default and will disappear when exiting a session.

Incognito conversations end if the user closes the app or locks their phone. The chats are text-only, with users unable to upload or generate images. Users must confirm their age to use the mode because Meta does not allow users under 13.

The incognito mode includes safety features that steer users toward helpful information or refuse to answer harmful topics and may stop interacting. It will roll out to WhatsApp and the standalone Meta AI app over the next few months. The feature is based on WhatsApp's Private Processing infrastructure that debuted a year ago.

Incognito Chat uses Meta's Muse Spark model released last month. Meta AI was added to WhatsApp last year. In May 2025, Meta AI reached a billion users across Meta's apps, Mark Zuckerberg said. Will Cathcart, Meta’s head of WhatsApp, said the feature addresses user demand for privacy on sensitive subjects.

“We’re starting ask a lot of meaningful questions about our lives with AI systems, and it doesn’t always feel like you should have to share the information behind those questions with the companies that run those AI systems,” he said. Cathcart said people wanted private conversations with AI on sensitive subjects including health, relationships and finances.

Cathcart described the technology as 'the equivalent' of end-to-end encryption.

Alice Newton-Rex, VP of Product at WhatsApp, highlighted growing use of AI for private matters. “People are starting to use AI for everything, including some of their most private thoughts, whether that’s tackling financial or health questions, or for advice on how to respond to a tricky message from a friend or a colleague.

We think it’s really important to give people the ability to ask these questions as privately as possible,” she said.

Mark Zuckerberg said Meta AI is the first major AI product where there is no log of conversations stored on servers. He wrote that “Incognito Chat handles all AI inference in a Trusted Execution Environment that ensures your messages are not accessible to us. The conversations on your phone also disappear when you exit the session.

Zuckerberg wrote that he is proud that Meta Superintelligence Labs is the first lab to deliver private AI. Meta shares slid as its plan to spend billions more on AI spooked investors. Meta is on track to spend $145 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, according to Susannah Streeter.

WhatsApp has blocked other AI chatbots from being accessible on its systems. Incognito Chat will be subject to expert oversight so third parties can verify the code. Prof Alan Woodward, a cyber security expert at Surrey University, said there was a low risk of compromising WhatsApp's existing security by introducing a second system.

Woodward raised concerns about lack of accountability if AI causes harm because chats disappear. He noted that disappearing messages which cannot be retrieved by the user or by Meta would mean it would be impossible to find evidence whether somebody's chats led to harm, death or suicide.