WhatsApp Help Pages Leaked Hidden Instructions for a Meta Chatbot
Source: Wired ·
Around 80 pages on WhatsApp’s website exposed instructions that were designed for its chatbot, including “WHAT NOT TO SAY.” Meta says a bug caused the issue.
From the source
Dozens of WhatsApp web pages designed to answer people’s questions about Meta’s encrypted messaging app inadvertently exposed the company’s own instructions to its chatbot. These included some sections titled “WHAT NOT TO SAY” to users asking questions and explicit instructions not to provide people with legal advice. A new analysis has found that around 80 help and FAQ pages across WhatsApp’s website exposed text instructions that were designed for a large language model, specifically one of Meta’s own. The instructions, according to findings from privacy company Redact, appeared in the webpages’ code and contained written details that were not explicitly on the WhatsApp help pages. Among the 100 blocks of hidden text, the directions appeared to provide guidance to steer an LLM from answering users questions in unhelpful ways and provide a glimpse at how instructions for chatbots are created. In one instance, the WhatsApp page on how to delete your account included instructions…