Tell HN: You can't search your WhatsApp without exposing yourself to metaAI

8 pointsnothrowaways4 comments

Now when you search your WhatsApp you also give that info to metaAI.

Without any context this is a super-unspecific claim. Do you mean, like "They use an LLM (in inference mode) somewhere in their search-pipeline"? If so, then: well, no, d'oh. I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if in 2024, they didn't, given that they're one of the leaders in the field. I see no issue with this.

The question is if they store your search strings (that's an issue separate of AI), and if so, then whether that data is used for AI training. And in the latter, the question is should they (ethically)?, could they (legally)?, and are they?

Without more details, your post as extremely high entropy wrt. how much we should care.

Explain? Ref?

Whatsapp shows a search box now at the top of the app. Placeholder text in it says "Ask MetaAI or search". Previously search meant search in Whatsapp contacts or chat history, however now since the MetaAI is also taking input from same text box, we are sending our search strings to MetaAI, even though they might be for local search.

Exactly this.

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