WhatsApp's help pages hid LLM instructions: dont recommend a regulator
Researchers discovered hidden, non-visible instructions within WhatsApp's help pages that were intended for AI chatbots. These instructions specifically directed the AI to avoid offering legal advice, a practice WhatsApp attributed to a technical bug.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing issue of 'prompt injection' and the lack of transparency in how companies embed instructions for AI support agents.
You couldn't see the second part. It was written into the help pages in a way that never showed on your screen and was only there for an AI to read. We found it on October 8, 2026. To see how far it went, we then read all 545 pages that WhatsApp's help centre links to, and saved a copy of each one.
WIRED has reported on our findings . WhatsApp told WIRED that the notes were instructions for its support chatbot, the one people reach when they message WhatsApp Support with AI, and that they showed up in the pages because of a bug that has now been fixed. A WhatsApp spokesperson told WIRED it wants its support chatbots "focused on providing the best advice to users about WhatsApp" and "not to offer legal advice."
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