The implications of WhatsApp's new AI features on user privacy

Popular messaging app, WhatsApp said it will be rolling out new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that will be powered by its new 'Private Processing' system. 

There has been growing debate around what it means for user privacy and the future of encrypted messaging.

Cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, Adrianus Warmenhoven told Business Report that the balance between innovation and privacy remained delicate, and ongoing scrutiny is essential to ensure user data remains protected.

"While WhatsApp’s Private Processing is an impressive engineering feat, it’s still a compromise. Anytime data leaves your device – no matter how securely – it introduces new risks. Attackers won’t target your phone; they’ll target the data center," Warmenhoven said.

“Whenever an end-to-end encrypted platform relies on external servers for AI processing, it inevitably adds risk. You're still sending your private data to a machine outside your control – and that system, by design, has to read it to respond,” he added. 

“With end-to-end-encryption the data is protected during its travels from one end to the other. However, to keep your data secure, both ends must handle your data securely. Once it is transmitted, it is out of your control. There’s no such thing as a zero-risk AI system that processes private messages. WhatsApp has clearly worked to reduce those risks, but it’s a balancing act between user demand for smart features and the foundational promise of end-to-end encryption," Warmenhoven said. 

"Inviting audits and opening parts of the system to scrutiny is the right move. Security through obscurity doesn’t hold up, especially when you're dealing with billions of users and the attention of global threat actors." WhatsApp is responding to a market trend – people want AI tools. The question is whether privacy-first users will accept a version of AI which has a potential of data exposure," Warmenhoven further added. 

BUSINESS REPORT