Ask Arthur: How can I get rid of Meta AI?

Q: Meta AI is controlling my WhatsApp and getting in the way of chats and searches. How do I get rid of it?

A: Funny you should ask. I had the same problem. But because Meta AI is in fact an artificial intelligence bot that answers your questions – anything from history to biology to technical advice – you could have asked it that question directly. I did. This is what it told me:

“To remove Meta AI from WhatsApp, you can follow these steps:”

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the chat with Meta AI.
2. Tap and hold on the chat to select it.
3. Tap on the “Delete chat” or “Delete conversation” option.
4. Confirm that you want to delete the chat.

“Alternatively, you can also block Meta AI on WhatsApp to prevent receiving messages from it:”

(Spoiler alert: I could not find the following options on my phone.)

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the chat with Meta AI.
2. Tap on the chat to open it.
3. Tap on the “Block” or “Block contact” option.
4. Confirm that you want to block Meta AI.

“Note: If you want to completely remove Meta AI from your phone, you may need to uninstall the WhatsApp app or remove the Meta AI integration from your phone’s settings.”

And how do I do that, I asked Meta AI? It gave me a general answer and then an answer by operating system:

“To remove Meta AI integration from your phone’s settings, follow these steps:”

(Another spoiler alert: This may be wishful thinking on the part of Meta AI, but see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, ask Meta AI for a better way.)

Removing Meta AI integration:

1. Go to your phone’s “Settings” app.
2. Select “Apps” or “Application Manager”.
3. Find Meta AI or Facebook (which owns WhatsApp and Meta AI) in the list.
4. Select “Permissions” or “App permissions”.
5. Toggle off the switch next to WhatsApp to remove Meta AI integration.

Android:

1. Go to your phone’s “Settings” app.
2. Select “Apps” or “Application Manager”.
3. Find “Meta AI” or “Facebook” (which owns Meta AI) in the list.
4. Select “Permissions” or “App permissions”.
5. Toggle off the switch next to “WhatsApp” or “Messaging” to revoke Meta AI’s access.
6. Alternatively, you can also select “Storage” and then “Clear data” and “Clear cache” to remove Meta AI’s data and cache.

IOS:

1. Go to your phone’s “Settings” app.
2. Select “Privacy”.
3. Tap “Messaging” or “WhatsApp”.
4. Toggle off the switch next to “Meta AI” to revoke its access.

“By doing so, you’ll remove the Meta AI integration from your phone’s settings, and it will no longer appear in your WhatsApp chats.

“Note: These steps may vary slightly depending on your phone model and operating system version.”