Meta AI and Internet Crime Investigations

Meta AI is the AI assistant built into WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, and available in its own app and on Meta’s smart glasses. Because it sits inside apps that billions of people already use, many people interact with Meta AI without thinking of it as a separate service. This page gives general background on Meta AI and how investigations involving it may happen.

Background and History of Meta AI

Meta introduced Meta AI in 2023 and launched a stand-alone Meta AI app in 2025. Meta has since rebuilt the assistant on newer models and, in 2026, introduced an “incognito mode” for Meta AI chats on WhatsApp and in the Meta AI app, according to its second-quarter 2026 earnings call.

Meta AI Features and Services

Meta AI answers questions, generates and edits images, and can be invoked inside group chats and direct messages. The stand-alone app launched with a “Discover” feed where users can choose to share their AI conversations. Settings and features change frequently.

How People Use Meta AI

Meta AI is used legitimately by a very large number of people to ask questions, get recommendations, plan, learn, and create images without leaving the apps they already use, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. It is also available in a stand-alone app and on Meta’s AI glasses, which lets people get help hands-free. For many people, Meta AI is a convenient, everyday assistant.

How Many People Use Meta AI?

Meta’s CEO said in 2025 that Meta AI had about 1 billion monthly users across Meta’s apps, as reported by CNBC. Because Meta AI is built into other apps, that figure counts people who used it anywhere in Meta’s family of apps.

How Investigations Involving Meta AI Often Begin

Many investigations involving Meta AI do not start with a police officer stumbling onto something. They start with a report. Online providers based in the United States are required by federal law to report apparent child sexual abuse material that they become aware of to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which runs the CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews each report, tries to work out where the user is located, and makes reports available to the appropriate law enforcement agency, often an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or a federal agency such as Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. For more on what happens after a report is made, see what a CyberTipline report is and what happens next.

AI platforms add something new to investigations: the user’s own words. Prompts, uploaded files, generated images, and conversation history can all be stored by the provider, and they can also be found on a phone or computer. Investigators may seek AI records to show what a person was thinking or planning, or to show that a person tried to create or upload illegal content. The firm discusses how police obtain these records in how police get AI records and how chats are used in court in AI chats and prompts as evidence.

NCMEC’s 2025 data lists 582 CyberTipline reports from Meta AI, far fewer than Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. We did not locate a U.S. criminal case in which Meta AI was publicly identified as the source of a report or evidence as of this draft.

A general caution: do not create, request, or share sexual or intimate images of any real person without that person’s consent, and never of a minor. AI-generated images can lead to criminal investigations even when no real photograph was used. See AI-generated images and deepfakes.

What Records Meta AI May Have and How Police Request Them

When investigators want records from Meta AI, they generally have to use legal process. In broad terms, basic account and subscriber information is often requested with a subpoena, more detailed records with a court order, and the content of messages or files with a search warrant, although the exact rules depend on the type of data, the jurisdiction, and the circumstances. Investigators also commonly send a preservation request, which asks the company to hold onto existing records while the legal process is prepared. What a company actually has depends on its products, its retention practices, and the user’s own settings, and those practices change over time.

Meta AI requests are handled under Meta’s law enforcement guidelines. In general terms, Meta AI conversations may be associated with the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Meta account used, and may be stored depending on the feature and the user’s settings, including any incognito option. Messages sent to Meta AI are processed by Meta to generate responses, so they should not be assumed to have the same protection as ordinary end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp messages between people.

Connecting a Meta AI Account to a Person

A record showing that a Meta AI account did something is not the same thing as proof that a particular person did it. Investigators typically try to connect an account to a person using things like the email address or phone number used to register, IP addresses from logins, subscriber records from an internet or wireless provider, device identifiers, payment records, and what is found on devices during a search. Each link in that chain can raise questions: shared homes and shared Wi-Fi, devices used by more than one person, VPNs, carrier networks that place many customers behind one IP address, compromised accounts, and gaps in the records. These are the kinds of issues a defense attorney may look at closely, case by case, under current law. The firm discusses this further in how police connect online accounts to a person.

Examples From Reported Cases

The examples below are drawn from public announcements and news reports. They are described generally and without names. Charges are only accusations, and anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. These summaries are not a prediction of how any other case will turn out.

• We did not locate a publicly reported U.S. criminal case centered on Meta AI as of this draft. Investigations involving Meta’s other services are described on the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp pages.

Related Articles on InternetCrime.com

• Platform Investigations: all platforms
• AI Crimes
• AI Chats and Prompts as Evidence
• How Police Get AI Records
• AI-Generated Images and Deepfakes
• Facebook Investigations
• Instagram Investigations
• WhatsApp Investigations

If You Are Under Investigation Involving Meta AI

If police have contacted you, if a search warrant has been served, or if you believe an investigation involving a Meta AI account may be underway, it is important to get legal advice before taking any action on your own. Attorney Ron Frey generally advises speaking with an attorney before answering questions or agreeing to a search. Whether a person may be required to provide a password or unlock a device depends on the circumstances, the jurisdiction, and any search warrant or court order involved, so that decision should be made with an attorney’s advice (see should I provide my password to the police or FBI?).

You have the right to remain silent. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Laws change and vary from state to state and between state and federal court, and the way they apply depends on the specific facts. Please don’t rely on the internet or on AI tools to evaluate your situation. Every case is different, and contacting an attorney is a priority to get tailored advice.

Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC has been practicing law for over two decades and represents people nationally in internet and computer crime investigations and charges. He is a conference speaker and published author.

Attorney Ron Frey Is Available for a Free Initial Confidential Consultation: Call or Text (844) 766-3739. In Florida, call (813) 775-2276. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.

References

• NCMEC, “2025 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers (ESP)”
• Meta, Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript (July 2026)
• Meta Newsroom, “Introducing the Meta AI App” (Apr. 2025)
• CNBC, on Meta AI reaching 1 billion monthly users (May 2025)
• Meta, Information for Law Enforcement Authorities
• Wikipedia, “Meta AI” (background)

Important: This page provides general information only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a complete or current statement of the law or of any company’s policies. Laws, court decisions, and platform practices change, and their effect depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. User figures and report counts come from the sources listed and may since have changed. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the services discussed; The Frey Law Firm, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. Please don’t rely on this page, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer. Reading this page or contacting The Frey Law Firm, LLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed: October 26, 2026.