WhatsApp, owned by Meta (recognized as extremist and banned in Russia), is developing a feature that enables channel administrators to label publications containing AI content. The function is linked to new European Union requirements for transparency of materials created by artificial intelligence.
Specialists at WABetaInfo discovered the capability in a recent beta version of the messenger for Android. The screen describing the update explicitly warns administrators that channels in certain countries must mark updates that use AI content.
Operation is straightforward: after publishing, an administrator can long-press the message, open the context menu, and choose the item “Add AI content label.” A prominent marking then appears on the message, notifying subscribers that the media material was created or edited using artificial intelligence tools. It is possible that the label cannot be removed once added.
Labeling will not apply to every post. Current descriptions define AI content as images, videos, and other media materials created or altered by neural network tools. The requirement does not extend to generated text, allowing neural networks to continue writing posts without disclosure.
The feature currently exists only in the test build of WhatsApp for Android and is unavailable to regular users. The iOS version and wider release are expected later. The central remaining question is whether labeling will appear worldwide or only in countries where legislation mandates it.
