01 / At a glance
Meta AI in one page
Free, and built into WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook. Your chats help personalize content and ads. Keep it to personal use.
| Plans | Free. Meta One paid tiers since September 2026. |
|---|---|
| Trains on your chats? | Yes. Meta uses AI interactions to improve AI. EU users can object. |
| Used for ads? | Yes, in most regions since 16 December 2025, with no opt-out. Meta says sensitive topics are excluded. |
| Your instructions | Tell Meta AI how you like answers, and ask it to remember. |
| Memory | Ask: "what do you remember about me". Delete details one at a time. |
| Public posting risk | The Discover feed. Chats stay private unless you post them. |
| Firm work | Not recommended. No business data controls. |
The setup path
Why not for firm work
In most regions, chats with Meta AI are used to personalize content and ads, with no opt-out.
WhatsApp says AI messages are different from personal messages. Only personal messages are stated to be end-to-end encrypted.
02 / Set it up
Five steps, in order
Do them in this order. Data controls come before anything personal goes in.
Use Meta AI for personal tasks only. Never paste anything from work.
Meta AI app > Menu > Settings > Data & privacy
Review Manage your information. If you use Muse, turn off Help improve our AI models under Settings > Data controls. It is on by default.
In any Meta AI chat
Tell Meta AI how you like answers. Then ask "what do you remember about me" to check what it stored.
Discover feed
Never tap Share or Post on a chat. Posting makes your profile public on Discover. To remove past posts, use Remove all public vibes.
Settings > Data & privacy > Manage your information
Delete old chats. Deleting a message also deletes the memories taken from it.
03 / The master prompt
Let Meta AI set itself up
Paste this into a new chat. It interviews you, then writes your setup for you.
You are my setup chief of staff for Meta AI. Your job: set Meta AI up so it works the way I work, safely. Work in three stages. Ask one question at a time. Wait for my answer. STAGE 1. INTERVIEW (no more than 10 questions) Ask about: my role and organization, the work I want help with, the five tasks I repeat most, the tools I use every day, how I like answers written (length, tone, format), and what I must never share with an AI tool. STAGE 2. WRITE MY SETUP a) My standing preferences (as a short paragraph I can tell you to remember) text. Keep it under 800 characters. Write it in plain sentences. Put the most important rules first. b) Three reusable prompts I can paste for my most common personal tasks. c) A short list of things I should never ask you about, because my chats can be used for ads. d) A checklist of the privacy settings I should confirm, with where to find each one in Meta AI. STAGE 3. TEST Give me three test prompts that prove the setup works, and describe what a good answer looks like for each. RULES - Do not invent features. If you are not sure a setting exists in Meta AI today, say so and tell me where to check. - Never ask me for passwords, account numbers, client names, or personal data. If I start to share them, stop me. - Plain language. Short sentences. Tables where they help.
04 / Govern first
Best practices
- Turn off model training before your first real prompt
- Use an approved business tier for firm work, or nothing
- Keep one workspace per recurring task
- Check every number and citation it gives you
- A person signs off before anything leaves the building
- Passwords, API keys, or access tokens
- Client names, account numbers, or holdings
- Material non-public information
- Personal data about staff or members
- Anything under a confidentiality agreement
Specific to Meta AI
- Use Incognito Chat where it is available. Meta announced it in May 2026 for WhatsApp and the Meta AI app. Chats are not stored.
- In WhatsApp group chats, turn on Advanced Chat Privacy to stop messages being used for AI features.
- Treat Instagram DMs as readable by Meta. End-to-end encryption was removed in May 2026.
- Adding WhatsApp to Accounts Center links its AI chats to ads across Meta apps. Leave it out.
Starter instructions
Prefer to write them yourself? Fill in the brackets, then paste into a new Meta AI chat, then ask it to remember.
About me: I am a [role] at a [type of organization]. I use you for [three main jobs]. How to answer: - Lead with the answer, then the reason. - Keep it short. Use tables for comparisons. - Say plainly when you are unsure, and how I can check. - Cite a source for every number or factual claim. Never: - Invent figures, quotes, or sources. - Give a final legal, tax, or investment decision. Flag it for a person. - Ask me for client names, account numbers, or passwords.
05 / Data and controls
What to check, and where
| Training | Meta uses AI interactions to improve AI. EU users can object. |
|---|---|
| Ads | AI chats personalize content and ads in most regions since 16 December 2025. No opt-out. |
| Export and delete | Meta AI app > Settings > Data & privacy > Manage your information |
| Delete individual AI chats. Request deletion of what you shared. | |
| Muse | Settings > Data controls: training toggle, Reset Muse, download your data. |
| Data location | Global, including the United States, per the privacy policy. |
06 / Sources
Where every fact comes from
- Meta AI help: how Meta uses information
https://www.meta.com/help/artificial-intelligence/2457110494637611/ - Meta AI help: data and privacy
https://www.meta.com/help/artificial-intelligence/1771195753735844/ - Meta: improving recommendations with AI (Oct 2025)
https://about.fb.com/news/2025/10/improving-your-recommendations-apps-ai-meta/ - Reuters: Meta to use AI chats for ads (Oct 2025)
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/meta-use-ai-chats-personalize-content-ads-december-2025-10-01/ - Meta: AI for Europeans (Apr 2025)
https://about.fb.com/news/2025/04/making-ai-work-harder-for-europeans/ - Introducing Meta One (Sep 2026)
https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-meta-one-subscription-service-more-features-ai/ - Introducing Muse (Sep 2026)
https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/ - Muse help: data controls
https://www.meta.com/help/superintelligence/2225571704857152/ - Meta AI glasses help: memory
https://www.meta.com/help/ai-glasses/1781384439575979/ - WhatsApp FAQ: Meta AI messages
https://faq.whatsapp.com/2257017191175152 - Help Net Security: WhatsApp Incognito Chat (May 2026)
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/05/13/whatsapp-incognito-chat-meta-ai/ - Malwarebytes: Meta chat privacy changes (May 2026)
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/05/metas-confusing-new-approach-to-chat-privacy - WhatsApp Private Processing
https://engineering.fb.com/2025/04/29/security/whatsapp-private-processing-ai-tools/ - Meta privacy policy
https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/
Settings checked on 29 October 2026. Platforms change their menus often. Follow the source links before relying on a path. This guide is general information. It is not legal, compliance, or investment advice.