An independent AI application called Meta AI, launched by Meta, has drawn significant attention from users. However, the app has also exposed serious privacy issues. Many users inadvertently shared private conversations with chatbots, exposing their sensitive information to the public.

The Meta AI application allows users to post conversation content to social platforms via a share button after interacting with AI. Surprisingly, many users were unaware of this. The content they posted included personal privacy, legal consultations, and even questions related to criminal activities. For instance, some users asked in the app how to evade taxes or how to write a legal recommendation letter involving their own names. Security expert Rachel Tobac discovered that multiple users' home addresses and sensitive court information were publicly disclosed.

Meta, Metaverse, Facebook

Meta failed to clearly indicate its privacy settings during user operations and did not inform users where their content would be shared. If users log in to Meta AI through an Instagram account and their Instagram account is public, then their search records and conversations in Meta AI will become public information without their awareness. This situation has made people uneasy, especially when seeking private advice or help.

The launch of Meta AI has sparked extensive discussions, with many believing it to be an irresponsible design. Compared to other platforms, Meta’s approach of making users’ search and conversation content public seems particularly risky. Historical lessons such as Google not turning its search engine into a social media feed, or AOL's public disclosure of user search records in 2006, remind us that such designs are unwise.

As of now, the download count for the Meta AI app is 6.5 million times. Although this number is not small for a new app, given Meta's status as one of the wealthiest companies in the world and its substantial investment in technology, this figure appears somewhat modest. As users continue to share various content within the app, these pieces of information spread rapidly like a virus, becoming focal points of public attention.

In order for Meta AI to win over more users, perhaps this public awkwardness is exactly what Meta aims for. However, with the increasing severity of privacy issues, users' trust in this app is bound to be severely affected.

Key points:

📌 Private conversations shared by users on Meta AI were unintentionally made public, involving sensitive information.  

📌 Meta failed to clarify user privacy settings, increasing the risk of information leakage.  

📌 The 6.5 million downloads reflect the attention on Meta AI, but privacy issues have lowered user trust.