Mentioning the assistant in a group can pull recent messages with it
Mentioning Meta AI in a Messenger group can pull recent messages, including yours, over to Meta. Delete the account number, or turn sharing off, first.
The account number in the opening is invented, so the order is easy to see. This article is not copied from a real group chat.
In a family group, a message that was just sent still contains an account number. Someone else is about to type @Meta AI and ask for a summary.
@Meta AI is how you mention Meta’s assistant inside a Messenger conversation.
What the help page states
Messenger’s help page, in the section on sharing with Meta AI, says the feature is being introduced gradually and may not be on your phone yet. When you or someone else uses it on messages in the chat, up to 50 of the most recent messages are shared with Meta AI each time, so the assistant can answer. In some cases, including a mention of @Meta AI in a group, messages from the past 30 days are shared. Someone else in the group can hand your messages and photos to Meta AI, unless sharing is turned off for that chat.
A transfer receipt, a password, or a home address sitting in those recent messages goes with that mention. The help page names passwords and financial information in particular as things to think about before you let the assistant use them.
The diagram only shows the order: the account number is still in the group, and a mention can pull recent messages, including yours. It is not a screenshot of a real chat.
Check whether money details are still in the group
Before anyone types the assistant’s name, delete the message that contains the account number, or turn off sharing messages with Meta AI for that chat. The help page says you can turn that permission off, delete messages, edit messages, or delete information from the chat. It does not name the button, so this article does not give a tap-by-tap path. If you cannot find the place to turn sharing off, do not let anyone mention the assistant while an account number, a password, or financial details are still in recent messages.
An end-to-end encrypted chat means that, by default, only the people in the chat can read the messages. A message already shared with Meta AI can be seen by Meta, which is why the help page points to Meta’s privacy policy and Meta AI’s terms. Messages that have not been shared stay inside that encryption.
The page also says the assistant’s replies can be wrong or unsuitable, and that they should not be used for an important decision. Meta uses conversations with the assistant to improve its own AI.
Primary sources
- Messenger Help Center — About sharing with Meta AI on Messenger — Messenger’s help page on sharing messages with Meta AI: up to 50 messages at a time, 30 days in some group mentions, and Meta can access a message once it has been shared.