Meta has introduced a new AI-powered Message Summaries feature for WhatsApp, designed to help users quickly catch up on unread messages in individual and group chats. This optional feature uses Meta AI to generate concise, bulleted summaries of missed conversations, visible only to the user and not to other chat participants.
Key points about the feature:
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Privacy-focused: The summaries are created using Meta’s Private Processing technology, which ensures that neither Meta nor WhatsApp can access the message content or the generated summaries. The processing happens locally on the user’s device or within a secure cloud environment, preserving end-to-end encryption and privacy.
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User control: Message Summaries are disabled by default. Users can enable or disable them via WhatsApp settings under Settings > Chats > Private Processing. Advanced privacy settings allow users to specify which chats (personal or group) can use AI summaries.
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Current availability: The feature is initially rolling out in the United States with English language support, with plans to expand to more countries and languages later in 2025.
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How it works: When there are unread messages, a small icon appears in the chat. Tapping it provides a quick bulleted summary of the key points from those messages, saving users time without scrolling through long conversations.
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Background: This builds on earlier Meta AI integrations in WhatsApp, such as asking questions directly to Meta AI within chats and generating images. The new stack allows WhatsApp to privately access chat context to summarize messages or offer writing suggestions13.
Meta’s WhatsApp Message Summaries offer a private, AI-driven way to quickly understand unread messages, emphasizing user privacy and control, and currently available in the U.S. with plans for wider release.