Meta is testing a new anti-scam feature on WhatsApp that uses on-device AI to detect suspicious messages, aiming to reduce scam losses while safeguarding user privacy.
WhatsApp is rolling out a new optional anti-scam tool that uses artificial intelligence on the user’s device to flag suspicious messages while keeping chats private, according to Digital Trends and Meta. The feature, called Scam Alert, is being tested in a limited beta and is designed to spot likely fraud without sending message content to Meta’s servers.
The move comes as scam losses on WhatsApp continue to mount. The Federal Trade Commission has said victims reported losing $425 million through WhatsApp scams, part of $2.1 billion lost to social media scams in 2025. Meta’s answer is to let a phone-side AI model examine messages from people outside a user’s contacts, looking for patterns that often show up in scams, including certain wording and conversation structures.
Meta says the system runs locally, meaning it does not need to read or transmit the actual contents of private chats. If a message looks suspicious, WhatsApp will show a warning inside that conversation that only the recipient can see. From there, users can block the sender, report the chat or ignore the alert and continue. If the warning is wrong, users can mark the conversation as trusted, and they may choose to share the last five messages to help improve the model.
Scam Alert builds on a broader push by Meta to curb fraud across its apps. In March, the company said it had launched additional anti-scam tools on WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger, including warnings tied to device-linking requests and suspicious friend requests. Meta also said it removed more than 159 million scam ads globally in 2025 and banned more than 12.1 million pieces of ad content in India, with most taken down proactively. WhatsApp has also previously introduced tools such as Silence Unknown Callers and Privacy Checkup to help users manage unwanted contact and tighten security settings.
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