WhatsApp's help pages hid AI instructions to withhold regulator and privacy law information
Original titleWhatsApp's help pages hid LLM instructions: dont recommend a regulator
An investigation found hidden text in WhatsApp's help pages that told its support chatbot not to recommend data protection regulators or cite privacy laws such as the GDPR once a lawyer was mentioned.
Two notes also blocked suggestions for deleting an account without the phone or number. The authors say WhatsApp's public privacy policy names these same rights, and that the notes were removed from live pages by October 18, 2026.
The investigation documents hidden instructions that kept users from learning about deletion routes and privacy law rights, grounded in archived copies anyone can check.
Source: Hacker News · AI (150+ points) · redact.devPublished · added here