WhatsApp’s help pages had a hidden layer that only AI could read
Websites now ship two versions of their content, one for people and one for AI. Any company can shape what your AI tells you about it, and you never see the instructions.
One line told AI not to recommend a data protection regulator.
Researchers at redact.dev read all 545 pages in WhatsApp’s help centre and found 102 hidden blocks across 80 of them: text a human visitor never sees, but an AI summarising the page does. On the delete-account page, the hidden text told AI not to suggest complaining to a regulator. Another block said to stop citing the law once a user mentioned a lawyer. WhatsApp removed all 102 blocks this weekend and called it a support-chatbot bug. Archived copies still show them.
My read: websites now ship two versions of their content, one for people and one for AI. Any company can shape what your AI tells you about it, and you never see the instructions.
Your pick: when an AI summarises a company’s own policy or help page, open the page yourself before you act on it.
Why I may be wrong: the bug explanation is plausible, and most of the blocks were harmless.
But if it was a bug, why did it know exactly what not to say?