TL;DR — What You Need To Know

• Meta AI can’t be fully removed from WhatsApp, but you can block it on a chat-by-chat basis.
• “Advanced Chat Privacy” is a new feature that prevents Meta AI from accessing chat content, exporting chats, or auto-saving media.
• Enable it manually by tapping the chat name, selecting Advanced Chat Privacy, and switching it on for greater control.

Meta and Google are racing to integrate AI deeper into their platforms—but at what cost to user trust?

While Google has been careful to offer opt-outs, Meta has taken a much bolder route with WhatsApp: AI is simply there. You can’t remove the little blue Meta AI circle from your app. If you don’t like it, tough luck. Or is it?

Facing backlash from frustrated users, WhatsApp has now quietly confirmed that you can block Meta AI from your chats—just not in the way you might expect.

The Rise of AI — and the Pushback

When the unmissable Meta AI blue circle suddenly appeared on billions of phones, the backlash was immediate. As Polly Hudson put it in The Guardian, there are “only two stages of discovering the little Meta AI circle on your WhatsApp screen. Fear, then fury.”

Despite WhatsApp’s heritage as the world’s largest private messaging app—built on privacy, security, and simplicity—its parent company is a marketing machine. And when marketing meets AI, user data tends to be part of the mix.

This left WhatsApp’s loyal user base feeling understandably betrayed.

The Good News: You Can Block Meta AI — Here’s How

Although the Meta AI button is baked into WhatsApp’s interface, you can stop it from accessing your chats.

The Advanced Chat Privacy feature quietly rolled out in the latest WhatsApp update allows users to:

• Block AI access to chat content.
• Prevent chats from being exported.
• Stop media auto-downloads into phone galleries.

Crucially, this also means Meta AI won’t use the chat content to “offer relevant responses”—because it won’t have access at all.

How to activate Advanced Chat Privacy:

1. Open a chat (individual or group).
2. Tap the chat name at the top.
3. Select ‘Advanced Chat Privacy.’
4. Turn the feature ON.

That’s it. Blue circle neutralised—at least inside those protected chats.

Why This Matters

Even though Meta claims it can’t see the contents of your chats, the small print raises concerns. When you interact with Meta AI, WhatsApp says it “shares information with select partners” to enhance the AI’s responses.

The warning is clear:
“Don’t share information, including sensitive topics, about others or yourself that you don’t want the AI to retain and use.”

That’s a pretty stark reminder that perception and reality often differ when it comes to data privacy.

Final Thoughts

WhatsApp’s Advanced Chat Privacy is a clever compromise—it gives users real control without allowing them to remove AI entirely.

If privacy matters to you, it’s worth spending a few minutes locking down your most important chats. Until Meta offers a more upfront opt-out—or until regulators force one—this is the best way to keep Meta AI firmly outside your private conversations.

What do YOU think?

Should AI features in private apps be opt-in by default—or are platforms right to assume “engagement first, privacy later”? Let us know in the comments below.

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TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds

• ChatGPT can now generate images of public figures, previously disallowed.
• Requests related to physical and racial traits are now accepted.
• Controversial symbols are permitted in strictly educational contexts.
• OpenAI argues for nuanced moderation rather than blanket censorship.
• Move aligns with industry trends towards relaxed content moderation policies.

Is AI Moderation Becoming Too Lax?

ChatGPT just got a visual upgrade—generating whimsical Studio Ghibli-style images that quickly became an internet sensation. But look beyond these charming animations, and you’ll see something far more controversial: OpenAI has significantly eased its moderation policies, allowing users to generate images previously considered taboo. So, is this a timely move towards creative freedom or a risky step into a moderation minefield?

ChatGPT’s new visual prowess

OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-4o, introduces impressive image-generation capabilities directly inside ChatGPT. With advanced photo editing, sharper text rendering, and improved spatial representation, ChatGPT now rivals specialised image AI tools.

But the buzz isn’t just about cartoonish visuals; it’s about OpenAI’s major shift on sensitive content moderation.

Moving beyond blanket bans

Previously, if you asked ChatGPT to generate an image featuring public figures—say Donald Trump or Elon Musk—it would simply refuse. Similarly, requests for hateful symbols or modifications highlighting racial characteristics (like “make this person’s eyes look more Asian”) were strictly off-limits.

No longer. Joanne Jang, OpenAI’s model behaviour lead, explained the shift clearly:

“We’re shifting from blanket refusals in sensitive areas to a more precise approach focused on preventing real-world harm. The goal is to embrace humility—recognising how much we don’t know, and positioning ourselves to adapt as we learn.”

In short, fewer instant rejections, more nuanced responses.

Exactly what’s allowed now?

With this update, ChatGPT can now depict public figures upon request, moving away from selectively policing celebrity imagery. OpenAI will allow individuals to opt-out if they don’t want AI-generated images of themselves—shifting control back to users.

Controversially, ChatGPT also now accepts previously prohibited requests related to sensitive physical traits, like ethnicity or body shape adjustments, sparking fresh debate around ethical AI usage.

Handling the hottest topics

OpenAI is cautiously permitting requests involving controversial symbols—like swastikas—but only in neutral or educational contexts, never endorsing harmful ideologies. GPT-4o also continues to enforce stringent protections, especially around images involving children, setting even tighter standards than its predecessor, DALL-E 3.

Yet, loosening moderation around sensitive imagery has inevitably reignited fierce debates over censorship, freedom of speech, and AI’s ethical responsibilities.

A strategic shift or political move?

OpenAI maintains these changes are non-political, emphasising instead their longstanding commitment to user autonomy. But the timing is provocative, coinciding with increasing regulatory pressure and scrutiny from politicians like Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, who recently challenged tech companies about perceived biases in AI moderation.

This relaxation of restrictions echoes similar moves by other tech giants—Meta and X have also dialled back content moderation after facing similar criticisms. AI image moderation, however, poses unique risks due to its potential for widespread misinformation and cultural distortion, as Google’s recent controversy over historically inaccurate Gemini images has demonstrated.

What’s next for AI moderation?

ChatGPT’s new creative freedom has delighted users, but the wider implications remain uncertain. While memes featuring beloved animation styles flood social media, this same freedom could enable the rapid spread of less harmless imagery. OpenAI’s balancing act could quickly draw regulatory attention—particularly under the Trump administration’s more critical stance towards tech censorship.

The big question now: Where exactly do we draw the line between creative freedom and responsible moderation?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds

• Tencent has launched its upgraded T1 reasoning model
• Competition heats up in China’s AI market
• Beijing spotlights Manus
• Manus partners with Alibaba’s Qwen AI team

The Tencent T1 Reasoning Model Has Launched

Tencent has officially launched the upgraded version of its T1 reasoning model, intensifying competition within China’s already bustling artificial intelligence sector. Announced on Friday (21 March), the T1 reasoning model promises significant enhancements over its preview edition, including faster responses and improved processing of lengthy texts.

In a WeChat announcement, Tencent highlighted T1’s strengths, noting it “keeps the content logic clear and the text neat,” while maintaining an “extremely low hallucination rate,” referring to the AI’s tendency to generate accurate, reliable outputs without inventing false information.

The Turbo S Advantage

The T1 model is built on Tencent’s own Turbo S foundational language technology, introduced last month. According to Tencent, Turbo S notably outpaces competitor DeepSeek’s R1 model when processing queries, a claim backed up by benchmarks Tencent shared in its announcement. These tests showed T1 leading in several key knowledge and reasoning categories.

Tencent’s latest launch comes amid heightened rivalry sparked largely by DeepSeek, a Chinese startup whose powerful yet affordable AI models recently stunned global tech markets. DeepSeek’s success has spurred local companies like Tencent into accelerating their own AI investments.

Beijing Spotlights Rising AI Star Manus

The race isn’t limited to tech giants. Manus, a homegrown AI startup, also received a major boost from Chinese authorities this week. On Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV featured Manus for the first time, comparing its advanced AI agent technology favourably against more traditional chatbot models.

Manus became a sensation globally after unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first truly general-purpose AI agent, capable of independently making decisions and executing tasks with minimal prompting. This autonomy differentiates it sharply from existing chatbots such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.

Crucially, Manus has now cleared significant regulatory hurdles. Beijing’s municipal authorities confirmed that a China-specific version of Manus’ AI assistant, Monica, is fully registered and compliant with the country’s strict generative AI guidelines, a necessary step before public release.

Further strengthening its domestic foothold, Manus recently announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba’s Qwen AI team, a collaboration likely to accelerate the rollout of Manus’ agent technology across China. Currently, Manus’ agent is accessible only via invite codes, with an eager waiting list already surpassing two million.

The Race Has Only Just Begun

With Tencent’s T1 now officially in play and Manus gaining momentum, China’s AI competition is clearly heating up, promising exciting innovations ahead. As tech giants and ambitious startups alike push boundaries, China’s AI landscape is becoming increasingly dynamic—leaving tech enthusiasts and investors eagerly watching to see who’ll take the lead next.

What do YOU think?

Could China’s AI startups like Manus soon disrupt Silicon Valley’s dominance, or will giants like Tencent keep the competition at bay?

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Learn more by tapping here to visit the Tencent website.