WhatsApp has announced a new AI-driven tool called Writing Help, designed to make messaging smoother by helping users adjust the tone and style of their texts-whether professional, funny, or supportive-while keeping privacy at the core.

How it works

When you begin typing a message in either a group or private chat, a pencil icon will appear. Tapping it opens a pop-up with alternate versions of your draft. Choose the one you like, and it instantly replaces your message in the text field. From there, you can either hit send or fine-tune it further.

Meta says the idea is to take away the stress of “finding the right words” and make conversations more expressive and natural.

Privacy first: Powered by Private Processing

The feature runs on Meta’s Private Processing technology, which ensures that neither WhatsApp nor Meta can access your original message or the AI’s rephrased suggestions. Importantly, this privacy-preserving system has undergone independent security audits and passed them, lending credibility to Meta’s claims.

Optional and user-controlled

• Writing Help is completely optional and turned off by default.
• Users will have to manually enable it in settings to try it out.
• This gives users full control over whether they want the feature or not.

Availability

For now, Writing Help is rolling out in English across the United States and select countries. Meta plans to expand to other regions with broader language support later this year.

Why inside WhatsApp?

By placing the AI assistant directly inside WhatsApp, Meta aims to provide a handy, secure alternative to phone-based or third-party AI writing apps. While WhatsApp is often used for casual, friendly conversations, the company hopes this tool will still prove useful in moments when tone and clarity matter.