If you use the Meta AI app, be careful you’re not accidentally sharing anything personal. Think that’s something you’d never do? Tell that to the many, many people who are apparently exposing their private prompts on the app.
Recently, users have been reporting that the app’s Discover feed has been filled with people sharing posts that are clearly not intended for the public: sensitive medical issues, admissions of crimes, relationship advice with revealing details, and more.
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When I downloaded the app to see for myself, posts seemed fairly normal at first. A bit weird, but normal. I saw AI-generated images and videos of fantasy scenes, landscapes, animals, and the occasional political figure.
But then, about 20 seconds in, I saw a photo request for somewhat adult pictures under an account with someone’s real name. I noticed the photo had quite a few comments, so I tapped to see more. The comments were follow-up queries from the person asking for progressively more adult scenarios, and eventually comments from hundreds of people mocking this person who almost certainly didn’t know this was public.
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As I scrolled, more than 95% of the posts I saw were pictures or videos people wanted to share. However, I would see an occasional post that probably wasn’t: someone asking for job interview help with details about the specific job, someone asking for details about what constituted extortion, and someone drafting an apology letter to their husband. I also saw people asking Meta AI to restyle photos that didn’t seem to be intended for the public, too.
Other people I’ve seen worseI didn’t find anything embarrassing, but I would have if I had kept scrolling.
There’s no search button in the app so you can’t look for accidental shares. What’s the deal?
How Meta AI is accidentally sharing prompts with people
When you ask Meta AI for a prompt, it doesn’t become public. There are two specific circumstances that make this a problem.
The first is that, when you create a Meta AI account, the default name is your Instagram username. This means that many people have their real names and pictures displayed on their profiles.
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Another thing is that the app has a social media component. You should expect that people will see what you share.
Sharing a public item is a two step process that involves tapping “share” then “post.” Yet, people are clearly posting prompts that they almost certainly do not want to be made public. The most likely reason is that people click “post,” on purpose, but mistakenly think it’s a personal journal.
When asked by Meta for comment, a representative confirmed that chats were private by default, and only become public when the user posts. The representative explained that posting to the Discover feed is not possible without the user first going through the process of posting.
How you can avoid accidentally sharing your personal prompts with Meta AI
When using the Meta AI application, if you don’t intend to share anything publicly you should be careful not to do so.
- Tap on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the app.
- Click “Data & privacy”
- Click “Manage your information”
- Click “Make all your prompts visible to only you”
You’ll then see a notification asking you if you wish to make your prompts visible only to you. You can also delete any posts that you have already made by selecting “Apply to all.” . OurTech Today Newsletter will deliver the morning’s most important stories to your inbox every day.
