WhatsApp is planning to introduce new AI-powered tools to make replying to messages easier, but it’s doing so with a strong focus on privacy. Soon, you will be able to get message summaries and writing suggestions directly in your chat window, thanks to artificial intelligence.

But unlike many AI tools that rely on cloud servers, WhatsApp’s new system ensures your messages remain encrypted and unreadable to anyone else, including WhatsApp itself. What does this mean for you, and how does it work? Know all the details.

Meta’s Private Processing: What is it?

Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, is developing a system called Private Processing. This technology allows AI to help with tasks like summarising unread messages or suggesting how to respond, without actually reading your messages. How? By keeping the AI’s work contained within a secure environment where even Meta can’t see what’s going on.

This is different from the usual method used by most AI features, which often send data to servers for processing. That approach doesn’t work well with WhatsApp’s promise of end-to-end encryption. So Meta built something new to make it possible to use AI without sacrificing privacy.

How Private Processing Works

At the core of this system is something called a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). You can think of it as a secure bubble where your data is briefly handled, but never stored, and never seen by anyone outside of it. Understand it this way — your phone verifies itself anonymously to ensure it’s a real WhatsApp client and then your request is sent through a third-party relay, so WhatsApp can’t see your IP address.

After that, a secure session is created where only verified code runs in the secure environment and the message content is encrypted, and AI processes it inside a secure virtual machine. Once the AI generates a response, only your device can decrypt and view it. As soon as the process is over, the system forgets everything. No data is stored, and there’s nothing for hackers or anyone else to retrieve later.

The good part is that these features will be completely optional. You’ll have to actively choose to use them. That means nothing will run in the background without your permission. Meta is also giving users the ability to limit how much interaction they want with AI tools, especially in more sensitive chats.

When will you get these features?

In the beginning, WhatsApp will offer features like summarising long message threads and suggesting responses — useful when you’ve missed a bunch of messages or aren’t sure how to reply. These tools are expected to start rolling out in the coming weeks.