Your Meta AI Chats Could Appear In Google Searches

Would you want your private conversations with an AI chatbot to show up in a public Google search? Most people would probably say no.

This very issue caused a stir recently when users discovered that some publicly shared ChatGPT conversations were being indexed by Google. While users had to opt-in to share these chats, many likely didn't realize this meant they could become searchable by anyone on the internet. In response to the privacy concerns, OpenAI announced on Thursday that it would prevent shared chats from being indexed by search engines.

However, another major AI player, Meta, has a similar feature in its standalone Meta AI app that continues to allow Google to index shared chats, making them publicly discoverable through a simple search.

How Your Meta AI Chats End Up on Google

The Meta AI app, launched this spring, includes a 'Discover' feed where users can voluntarily share their chatbot conversations. When a chat is shared to this feed, it becomes public. Google's web crawlers can then 'index' this public feed, catalogue the content, and serve it up in search results.

For example, if you were to perform a Google search for site:meta.ai balloons, you might find a public conversation someone had with the Meta AI bot about finding the best birthday balloons, provided they chose to share it.

Privacy Risks and Meta's Response

This isn't just a theoretical risk. A previous report from Business Insider in June highlighted that the Meta AI Discover feed contained numerous chats of a personal nature. These included conversations about medical conditions, specific career advice, and sensitive relationship matters. Worryingly, some of these public chats even contained personally identifiable information like phone numbers, email addresses, and full names.

It's reasonable to assume that many users who shared these conversations misunderstood the full implications of making them public.

After the initial report, Meta made changes to the app to provide clearer warnings. Now, when a user attempts to share a chat, a pop-up appears with an explicit message: "Conversations on feed are public so anyone can see them and engage."

This additional warning appears to have had a positive effect. A recent look at the Discover feed shows it is now dominated by users sharing AI-generated images, with far fewer instances of accidentally shared private text conversations, though a few still slip through.

Meta's Stance: Indexing Will Continue

Despite the precedent set by OpenAI, Meta has confirmed its position. A company representative, Daniel Roberts, stated that Meta AI chats shared to the Discover feed will continue to be indexed by Google, emphasizing the multi-step sharing process with its new warning.

Part of the user confusion may stem from the fact that Meta AI is currently a mobile-only app. This can create the illusion of a 'walled garden,' where content shared within the app feels separate from the wider internet. However, posts in the Discover feed can be shared as web links, which is what allows Google to find and index them.

While it's possible some users genuinely want their AI chats to be public and searchable, the potential for misunderstanding remains high. The question is, why would most people want to share these interactions, and why would others want to read them?