WhatsApp begins rolling out ‘Advanced Chat Privacy’ to restrict chat exports, media downloads, and AI use
WhatsApp has started rolling out a new privacy-focused feature called Advanced Chat Privacy, designed to give users more control over how their messages and media are handled in both private and group chats. The feature builds on WhatsApp’s existing privacy framework, which already includes end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, view-once media, and chat locks.
With Advanced Chat Privacy enabled, users in both individual chats and groups will be able to prevent others from:
- Exporting chats
- Auto-downloading media to their device
- Using message content for AI-based features
According to WhatsApp, this setting is particularly useful in groups where participants may not know each other well, but sensitive discussions are taking place—such as health support groups or community organisation chats.
The feature can be accessed by tapping on a chat name and navigating to Advanced Chat Privacy. Users will need to manually turn it on. WhatsApp says this is just the first version of the feature and more additions and improvements are planned in the future.
The update is being rolled out gradually for all users on both Android and iOS. However, since it’s a phased rollout, some users may not see the setting immediately. In our own testing, the setting did not appear yet on either Android or iOS devices, likely due to the staged rollout process.
