Protect your personal data by sharing the least information an AI tool needs, keeping credentials and unapproved sensitive material out of prompts, and checking the privacy controls for the exact product and account you use. Training settings, chat history, human review, and data retention are separate issues: turning off model improvement does not necessarily stop a service from processing or retaining information.
What counts as sharing data with an AI tool?
Anything you submit or expose can be part of the disclosure—not just typed prompts. Depending on the product and features you use, that may include files, photos, screenshots, videos, voice, screen content, browser pages, or information made available through connected apps. Google’s Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, for example, describes prompts and shared content such as files, videos, screens, photos, imported chats, and browser page content; connected apps and other Google services may also be involved.
Before submitting anything, ask whether the tool needs the identifying or confidential detail to answer. If it does not, remove it. Replace names with roles or placeholders, and generalize dates, locations, employers, and case details where possible. Redact screenshots and documents before uploading them; small details such as an email address, account number, or visible browser tab can disclose more than the question requires.
What should you never put in a prompt?
Do not enter passwords, one-time passcodes, API keys, recovery codes, or payment credentials. For health, financial, legal, employment, or children’s information, do not assume a generic consumer chatbot is suitable just because it offers a privacy setting. Use a service and workflow specifically approved for that information.
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For work, client, or organization data, use only an account and workflow approved by your organization. Follow its data-classification rules and ask the administrator or privacy/security contact if you are unsure. A work account may provide different protections from a personal account, while still allowing logging, administrator access, or retention under organizational policy.
Which privacy settings should you check?
Controls vary by provider, product, account type, region, and subscription. Check current documentation for the exact service and account you are using rather than assuming a setting on one version applies to another. Look separately for controls covering:
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- Model improvement or training: whether conversations or other content may be used to improve models, and what setting changes that use.
- History and activity: whether conversations are saved to an account and how to turn history off, use a temporary chat, or delete activity.
- Memory and personalization: whether the service saves details to personalize future interactions, and how to review or remove those details.
- Retention and deletion: how long data may be kept and whether deletion excludes copies retained for review, security, legal, or service-protection purposes.
- Uploads and connections: which files, apps, browser pages, or other sources the tool can access, and whether access can be limited or disconnected.
These settings address different uses. A training opt-out does not necessarily prevent the service from processing data to respond, operate, secure, or administer the product. Deleting a chat or activity record also may not immediately remove every copy kept for another documented purpose.
How do the controls differ across popular AI services?
These official examples illustrate why there is no single privacy setting that applies to every assistant. They are not a ranking of which service is most private.
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| Service and account context | What the provider says | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT consumer service | OpenAI describes controls over whether conversations help improve models, and says individuals can delete memories, conversations, and account data. Its security page also describes encryption at rest and in transit and advanced account security. See OpenAI’s security and privacy information. | Review the controls in the account you actually use. These are OpenAI’s statements about its service, not independent testing; do not treat them as API terms. |
| OpenAI API | OpenAI says API data is not used to train or improve models by default. Its API data documentation says abuse-monitoring logs can contain prompts, responses, and derived metadata and are retained for up to 30 days by default, with exceptions for legal requirements or service protection. Eligible organizations can seek Zero Data Retention or Modified Abuse Monitoring controls. | The API is a separate context from consumer ChatGPT. Do not transfer API retention or training terms to a consumer account; check eligibility and applicable terms for an organization’s API use. |
| OpenAI business, education, and API products | OpenAI says business, education, and API data is not used for training by default. See OpenAI’s business data page. | Available controls and terms depend on the product and eligibility. Confirm the terms for the specific organization account. |
| Microsoft Copilot Chat signed in with a work or school account | Microsoft says prompts and responses are not used to train foundation models, but prompts, triggered Bing searches, and responses are logged. See Microsoft’s privacy and protections documentation. | Enterprise data protection does not mean there is no logging or administrator governance. Follow your organization’s policy. |
| Consumer Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft’s consumer Copilot privacy FAQ describes a control for signed-in users over whether conversation activity is used to train generative AI models, with future conversations excluded after opting out. It also distinguishes use while not signed in. | Check the current help page and your sign-in state; do not assume consumer settings describe work or school Copilot Chat. |
| Google Gemini Apps | Google’s Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, last updated September 24, 2026, says Gemini Apps Activity auto-delete can be set to 3 months, 18 months (the default stated there), 36 months, or indefinite. Google says human-reviewed chats and associated information may be retained for up to three years and are not deleted when activity is deleted. | Activity deletion and deletion of every retained copy are not the same. Consider the separate retention terms before submitting sensitive content. |
| Gemini Apps with connected apps | Google says Gemini activity, including connected-app information, may be used to improve Google services—including training generative AI models—when Keep Activity is on. It describes use of summaries, excerpts, and inferences from relevant connected data. See Google’s connected-app privacy information. | Do not connect an app containing confidential information you would not want used for training or seen by a reviewer; disconnect sources you do not need. |
How can you reduce exposure before and after a conversation?
- Choose the right account first. For organization or client information, confirm that the service and account are approved for that data before opening a chat.
- Minimize the input. Remove identifiers and confidential details that are not necessary. Share only the relevant excerpt rather than a whole document, mailbox, screenshot, or conversation.
- Check the settings that apply. Review training or improvement controls, history, temporary chat, memory, retention, and connected apps. Read the current product documentation if the setting’s effect is unclear.
- Limit extra access. Avoid unnecessary file uploads, screen sharing, audio/video, browser context, and app connections. Disconnect integrations that are not needed for the task.
- Delete activity when appropriate. Use the available history or activity controls, but do not assume deletion instantly removes data retained for other stated purposes.
- Secure the account. Use a unique password, turn on multifactor authentication when available, protect the recovery email, and review the provider’s account-security options.
- Recheck periodically. Products, defaults, and terms can change, so revisit the relevant settings and privacy notice from time to time.
What does deletion or a training opt-out actually mean?
A training opt-out concerns a particular use of data; it is not the same as stopping the service from processing information needed to answer a prompt or operate the service. Similarly, deleting visible activity does not necessarily erase data already retained for review, security, legal, or other documented reasons.
For example, Google says Gemini chats reviewed by human reviewers and associated information may remain for up to three years even after activity deletion. Separately, OpenAI’s API documentation describes a default abuse-monitoring retention period of up to 30 days, subject to stated exceptions. Those are service-specific terms, not general rules for AI tools. Read the applicable product’s current notice for its retention and deletion details.
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In U.S. guidance about company data practices, the Federal Trade Commission warned in January 2024 that companies that retain or use consumer data for other purposes without clear, conspicuous notice and affirmative express consent risk violating the law. The FTC specifically cautioned against burying disclosures in fine print, legalese, or behind hyperlinks. This is U.S. agency guidance about company practices, not a universal statement of the law in every jurisdiction. See the FTC’s January 2024 guidance.
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