Users warn 'delete Facebook' as Meta set to roll out disturbing new feature from December
Many fear what this update might mean for their private conversations
Featured Image Credit: Anna Barclay/Getty Images
Users have been warned to ‘delete Facebook’ as Meta is set to roll out a disturbing new feature from next month.
It comes as the tech giant makes changes to its privacy policy, which will come into effect on December 16.
With this update, the firm will now be able to monitor interactions you have across their platforms with a Meta AI chatbot.
According to Meta, this will give the firm the ability to better ‘personalize content and ads recommendations’.
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This has obviously caused a big stir on social media, with a lot of people taking to Reddit to share their own thoughts on the policy update after one user posted: “Meta (FB, Insta, Threads, WhatsApp) will read your DMs, Pics, & AI chats, rolling out from Dec 2025.”
This prompted many to reply, with one user writing: “That's funny. More like: We need to admit we're doing it from December or we'll get sued.”
Another said: “So I know they probably were able to read "encrypted" Whatsapp chats, but I wanna hear their line on how they're able to both eavesdrop on the chats and prevent eavesdropping on the chats.”
A third person commented: “Only have to follow the law in USA... They can do whatever the fuck the want with the rest of the world unfortunately. Us consumer better protected, then the rest. Everyone seems to have almost zero privacy protection.”
And a fourth added: “I deleted my facebook account ten years ago and have never regretted it once.”
But despite fears surrounding people potentially having their private messages read, Meta won’t actually be snooping on your conversations. So, what does the policy update mean for Meta users?
According to the company, it will ‘soon use your interactions with AI at Meta to personalize the content and ads you see, including things like posts and reels’.
Meta continued: “With tools like Ads Preferences and other feed controls, you can adjust the content and ads you see at any time.
“Additionally, you can choose how you interact with AIs, either with your voice for hands-free convenience or via text. If you use your voice, you’ll see an indicator light that the microphone is in use. We don’t use your microphone unless you’ve given us permission and are actively using a feature that requires the microphone.
“When people have conversations with Meta AI about topics such as their religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, as always, we don’t use those topics to show them ads.”