Meta has done it again. Just a few days have passed since we learned of the technique that Meta had been using to violate the privacy of Android users, and a new controversy has arisen, this time with the Meta AI assistant integrated into Instagram. While not a glitch, the situation has raised concerns about what many consider to be a serious user experience mistake: the unintentional posting of private conversations in a public space without the clear warning or proper mechanisms to prevent it.
It all started with the implementation of Meta AI in the Instagram application, where users can interact with the assistant to solve doubts, ask for suggestions, or generate content. The problem arises when, after generating a query, the platform offers the option of “sharing.” This seemingly innocuous button leads to a preview that, when accepted, automatically turns the exchange into a post visible to other users, without there being a clear warning about the implications of that action.
The shared content appears in the Discover section, a feed where Meta shows the highlighted interactions with its AI. Although this feature could be understood as a way to promote the visibility of the attendee, in practice it has worked as a trap for many users who were not aware that they were making their questions or answers public. Even worse, the publication occurs without subsequent notifications or an easy control to remove the content.
The consequences have not been long in coming. Several users have noticed how their own conversations appeared in the Discover feed, including extremely sensitive topics: from medical or legal issues to personal data and intimate questions. Cases that should have been kept under the cover of privacy have ended up being publicly exposed, fueling concerns that Meta hasn’t learned enough from its previous mistakes in this area.
While technically no data breaches have occurred, experts agree that the design of this functionality is misleading, to say the least. There is no clear warning that the conversation will be public, and the language used in the “share” button does not accurately reflect the action it takes. In environments where artificial intelligence is beginning to become a regular interlocutor, this type of ambiguity can have serious consequences for users.
Cybersecurity specialists such as Rachel Tobac have pointed out the problematic nature of this type of design decision, considering that it is a recurring pattern at Meta: interfaces that prioritize participation or visibility of the product to the detriment of clarity for the user. Organizations such as EPIC and Mozilla have demanded an urgent review of this behavior, even calling for the temporary suspension of the Discover feed until robust safeguards are in place.
Meta, for its part, has not issued a specific statement about the incident, although some sources point out that the attendee’s interaction flows are being reviewed. However, the fact that the situation has persisted for weeks without apparent rectification reinforces the idea that the company continues to prioritize its product interests over the needs and rights of users.
This episode is not isolated. As you already know, Meta has a history full of controversial decisions in terms of privacy, from the Cambridge Analytica scandals to the confusing implementation of tracking policies in its apps. In all these cases, the lack of transparency and the complexity of their configurations have played against the user, and the current situation with Meta AI only confirms that the problem was not circumstantial but structural.
At a time when artificial intelligence is beginning to be integrated into everyday platforms, interaction design is becoming critical. It is not enough to protect data on a technical level if the interface then leads to error and misunderstanding. Meta has once again failed on that invisible border between the public and the private, and it has done so just where it should have been most scrupulous. A conversation with an AI may seem innocuous until it is unintentionally posted. And there, the user’s trust is once again called into question.
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