Change this setting immediately if you use Meta AI!

Innocuous conversation with Meta AI about your work, health, or legal issues? Chances are it was public. Meta has a dangerous setting in its app that's leaking people's personal lives into its feed.

 

Meta AI is sharing your prompt publicly

Meta AI isn't just an AI chatbot; it's also a social feed. While you're chatting with what appears to be a personal assistant, those conversations are likely to be published to a public Discover tab, which typically features your username and profile picture.

 

While sharing isn't automatic, it's easy to do inadvertently. Just a few taps can send your query to a public feed. Many users won't even notice, especially when they're just testing features or creating images.

It's led to some serious oversharing. According to TechCrunch, one user asked for help writing a character reference letter for an employee in legal trouble, using the employee's full name. Others have posted prompts about tax evasion, health conditions, or court issues, seemingly unaware that they were posting sensitive details to a public timeline.

While browsing the Meta AI app, the author encountered students uploading homework and asking the AI ​​to help them answer. In another instance, someone pasted a list of names with phone numbers into a chat and asked Meta AI to format them into text. It's hard to believe that any of these users intended to post that information—it just goes to show how easy it is to make mistakes. There were also a few prompts with some less-than-pleasant accents.

 

Even if you understand the sharing feature, it's easy to post something you want to keep private. And the worst part is that you may not realize it until your prompt shows up in someone else's feed.

Why is this important (even if you think it isn't)?

It's easy to think, "Who cares about my silly AI prompt?" But if information gets out, it's beyond embarrassing.

Imagine asking Meta AI how to break your lease in your city, mentioning your landlord's name, or uploading a photo to ask about a rash. Those details, when shared publicly, don't just disappear into the digital void. They persist. They can be screenshotted, reposted, and traced back to you. If your Meta AI profile is linked to your public Instagram account, it could even reveal your full name, face, or location.

Not only is this awkward, it's also a potential security risk. Experts have noted examples of users accidentally sharing court documents, medical histories, or the names of minors. Trolls, scammers, or even prospective employers could stumble upon posts they're not supposed to see.

If you use Meta AI and haven't reviewed your privacy settings, you're taking a risk. Just one careless tap could reveal your thoughts and questions to the world.

How to prevent Meta AI from sharing your prompts publicly

If you're using the Meta AI app, take a minute to double-check your privacy settings. While chats are private by default, it's all too easy to share them.

1. Open the Meta AI app.
2. Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner.
3. Scroll down and tap Data and Privacy .
4. Click Suggesting your prompts on other apps .
5. Turn off the toggle buttons for Facebook, Instagram.
6. Go back to the Data and Privacy screen and select Manage your information .
7. Click Make all your public prompts visible only to you and select Apply to all .

 

These changes only take a minute, but can help you avoid accidentally revealing things you want to keep private.

A general rule for using AI safely

Previously, TipsMake has shared guides on questions you should never ask an AI tool , as well as tasks you should never trust an AI to perform .

No matter how trivial or normal the prompt may seem, if it includes anything you wouldn't want a stranger — or a boss, an ex, or a journalist — to read, always remember that it could be seen.

Think of AI platforms more like open microphones than private diaries. They're useful, even friendly, but they're not secure. Even if you don't hit 'share,' anything you type can be stored, analyzed, or reused.

AI tools are convenient, but they are still owned by companies with ulterior motives. And user privacy is often not a top priority, despite what most AI chatbot developers claim. So be smart, be skeptical, and above all, be careful.