Starting December 16, 2025, Meta will fundamentally change its online privacy rules. The company will begin using your conversations with its AI assistant on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to personalise the ads you see. This process transforms your direct questions into valuable information for advertisers.
This marks a significant shift. Previously, Meta based its ads on your online activity, such as your likes, follows, and browsing history. Now, the company is accessing the core of your digital life: the actual words you type or speak. If you mention planning a wedding in a chat (with Meta AI), your feed will fill with ads from wedding planners, caterers, and honeymoon locations. If you ask about new laptops, expect to see countless ads from tech vendors competing for your attention.
The timing is strategic. Meta recently reported an incredible $46 billion in advertising revenue for the last quarter, confirming that advertising is the core of its business model. By integrating AI assistants into its apps, Meta can now make its ad model even more powerful by converting conversations into specific data. Such data that reveals more intent than any click or scroll ever could.
The policy will launch in mid-December, and users will start receiving notifications on October 7 to inform them of the change. This new policy will not launch in every market at the same time. In regions with stricter privacy laws, like the UK and the EU, the launch will be more gradual. However, for billions of users across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the change is launching as planned.
Meta insists this new policy is about “improving the experience” by ensuring you see more relevant content. While this might make your feed feel more organised, it doesn’t change the fundamental compromise: your private conversations (whether professional or deeply personal) are now used for advertising.
The company claims to have set limits, stating that chats about health, politics, or religion won’t be used for ad targeting. However, the policy contains a critical detail: you cannot opt out. Your only option is to adjust the level of personalisation you accept on your account. For many users, this feels less like a choice and more like a condition of use.
This is the source of the growing concern. Meta marketed its AI assistants as helpful tools, a private platform or channel to ask questions, brainstorm ideas, or discuss your day. Now, that same conversation can directly influence the products you see online. The line between assistant and advertiser, which was already unclear, is now disappearing completely.
Christy Harris, Meta’s privacy and data policy manager, states the company is committed to transparency. But transparency alone doesn’t answer the bigger question: when the company monetises your conversations, what personal value are you giving up?
What is certain is that Meta has redefined the boundary between private interaction and commercial targeting. Starting this December, your chats will be more than just words; they will become signals for advertisers, and for Meta, those signals generate revenue.
