Meta Launches "Incognito Chat" on WhatsApp for Private AI Conversations

Meta Platforms is rolling out a new "Incognito Chat" feature for its artificial intelligence assistant on WhatsApp. This initiative aims to address prevalent data privacy concerns surrounding AI interactions.

Credit: META

Incognito chats will be powered by Meta's private processing technology, ensuring conversations remain invisible. This includes preventing the company itself from accessing the chat content.

The company stated in a blog post, "Your conversations are not saved and by default, your messages disappear — giving you a space to think and explore ideas without anyone watching." This provides users with a secure environment for engagement.

This move comes amid user apprehension about data storage and usage by AI companies. Individuals often share sensitive personal, financial, health, or work-related information with AI assistants.

Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart addressed user concerns in a media briefing, stating, "We're starting to ask a lot of meaningful questions about our lives with AI systems. It doesn't always feel like you should have to share the information behind those questions with the companies that run those AI systems."

According to a company website, messages shared with Meta AI may be used to improve its AI models. However, personal chats on WhatsApp remain protected by end-to-end encryption and are not accessible for that purpose.

Cathcart confirmed that incognito chat is currently text-only, meaning users cannot upload images. The AI will also feature built-in safety guardrails, designed to refuse problematic questions or redirect conversations.

Meta also plans to introduce "Side Chat" with Meta AI in the coming months. This feature will allow users to obtain private assistance directly within any WhatsApp chat.

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• Meta Platforms is launching "Incognito Chat" for private AI conversations on WhatsApp.

• The feature uses private processing technology, making conversations invisible to all, including Meta.

• Conversations are not saved, and messages disappear by default, as stated by the company.

Source: REUTERS

LinkedIn Plans Global Staff Cuts Amid Tech Sector Reorganisation

LinkedIn plans to cut approximately 5% of its global workforce, according to individuals familiar with the matter. This reduction affects approximately 875 full-time workers globally (5% of its more than 17,500 global full-time employees) and signals a wider trend of staff reductions across the technology sector.

Credit: UNSPLASH

The Microsoft-owned social network intends to reorganise teams and focus personnel on areas demonstrating business growth. The organisation stated these reductions are not a result of artificial intelligence replacing jobs.

Despite the planned layoffs, LinkedIn’s revenue, derived from recruiting tools, and subscriptions, increased by 12% in the most recent quarter. This marks an acceleration of growth reported in 2026, according to Microsoft’s securities filings.

The prospect of AI-driven disruption has influenced software organisations and workers generally, despite statements about the current layoffs not being AI-related. Many Silicon Valley software developers now utilise AI to generate code.

Technology companies are increasingly restructuring their operations around artificial intelligence. Block, led by Jack Dorsey, recently announced plans to eliminate nearly half its workforce. Cloudflare also recently unveiled an approximate 20% staff reduction.

Earlier reports indicated that Meta Platforms was targeting a staff reduction around the middle of May. Layoffs.fyi, a tracker for technology workers, has recorded more than 103,000 cuts so far this year.

This figure approaches the more than 124,000 reductions that Layoffs.fyi counted for the entirety of 2025. While some AI leaders caution about job displacement, other industry executives suggest technology is altering work rather than eliminating it.

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• LinkedIn plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 5%.

• The cuts are part of a reorganisation effort, not due to artificial intelligence replacing jobs.

• LinkedIn’s revenue grew by 12% in the most recent quarter, showing accelerated growth in 2026.

Source: REUTERS

Unitree Unveils GD01 Optionally Manned Mecha Robot

China’s robotics organisation, Unitree, has unveiled the GD01, a mecha-style machine described as the world’s first production-ready, optionally manned robot. The GD01 features stable bipedal walking, strong force output to topple walls, and a quick switch to quadruped mode for movement across rough terrain.

Credit: UNITREE ROBOTICS

Built from high-strength alloy for civilian transport applications, the GD01 weighs 500 kilograms with a pilot on board. Its starting price is 3.9 million yuan (USD 573,674).

The robot can carry a pilot in a torso-mounted cockpit, demonstrating a sharp size contrast between operator and machine. In its upright mode, the robot reaches roughly 1.6 times the height of an average adult.

A demonstration video shows the mecha walking in a humanoid stance, striking a stack of bricks, and reconfiguring its chassis into a four-legged configuration. It can fold its legs, adjust its centre of gravity, and transition into a quadruped form within seconds, continuing movement without external assistance across uneven terrain.

Credit: UNITREE ROBOTICS

The company issued a safety notice, urging users not to attempt hazardous modifications or extreme tests. It noted that humanoid robotics remains in an early experimental stage with functional limitations for personal users.

The GD01 adds to the Unitree portfolio amid rapid growth in China’s humanoid robotics industry. Unitree launched an upper-body bipedal humanoid robot starting at 26,900 yuan (USD 4,290), designed with modular deployment options including a fixed base and mobile chassis. This model is for use in research, light industry, and service applications.

Unitree reportedly shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in the previous year, while US companies such as Tesla, Figure AI, and Agility Robotics each shipped around 150 units during the same period. Chinese companies are projected to account for nearly 90% of global humanoid robot sales in 2025.

Chinese humanoid robots are also priced lower than many Western alternatives. Unitree’s entry-level humanoid R1 costs about USD 6,000, while rival AgiBot offers a model priced around USD 14,000. Elon Musk has estimated that the future cost of the Optimus humanoid robot could fall between USD 20,000 and USD 30,000.

Unitree sells its R1, G1 humanoids, and Go2 robot dog internationally via Alibaba’s AliExpress platform, targeting markets in North America, Europe, and Japan. Chinese humanoid robots have begun appearing in airports and logistics operations, including trials by Japan Airlines using systems from Unitree and UBTech Robotics at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

Unitree filed for an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, planning to allocate about 85% of its 4.2 billion yuan (USD 61 million) fundraising target to research and development. This includes over 2 billion yuan (USD 29 million) for robotics model development.

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• Unitree unveiled the GD01, an optionally manned mecha robot with bipedal and quadruped modes.

• The GD01 weighs 500 kilograms with a pilot and has a starting price of 3.9 million yuan (USD 573,674).

• Unitree also offers lower-cost humanoid robots, contributing to China’s growing robotics market.

Source: INTERESTING ENGINEERING