Too many unread messages? WhatsApp’s new AI feature has you covered

WhatsApp has launched a new AI-powered feature called Message Summaries, aimed at helping users stay on top of busy chat threads. The tool, announced via WhatsApp’s official blog, allows users to view a brief, bulleted overview of unread messages, making it easier to catch up on lengthy group conversations or missed discussions. The feature is currently available in English to users in the United States, with plans to roll it out to other regions and languages later in 2025.

 

Built on Meta’s generative AI, Message Summaries are generated using a privacy-first technology called Private Processing. According to WhatsApp, this means that all summaries are created in a secure, encrypted environment ensuring that neither WhatsApp nor Meta has access to message content or the summaries themselves. The platform also confirmed that the feature is entirely optional and turned off by default. Users can enable it by navigating to Settings > Chats > Private Processing, and can further customise its application through Advanced Chat Privacy, which allows them to control which chats can be summarised.

 

When enabled, the feature displays a “Summarise privately” button above chats with multiple unread messages. Tapping this generates a short summary that is visible only to the user and remains hidden from other chat participants. Meta has emphasised that the summarisation process is end-to-end encrypted and carried out within what it calls a Trusted Execution Environment- a secure space in the cloud designed to isolate user data from external access. This is part of WhatsApp’s broader strategy to embed AI tools across its platform, including AI chat assistants, image generation, message rewriting, and translation features.

 

Initial responses from users have been cautiously optimistic. Some early adopters have praised the convenience of quickly scanning unread messages without diving into long threads. However, others have raised concerns over cloud-based processing, even with encryption in place. On platforms like Reddit, a few users questioned whether the tool could be disabled globally or whether its introduction signalled a broader push to normalise AI-driven features across private messaging.

 

Even with these concerns, WhatsApp says that Message Summaries are completely controlled by users and won’t be used to train Meta’s AI. As the company adds more AI features, their success will likely depend on staying transparent, giving users strong privacy options, and listening to feedback—especially since trust and safety are so important in this space.

Sci/Tech