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How to Safely Use ChatGPT Custom GPTs and Avoid Malicious Instructions

Custom GPTs can connect to apps and external APIs. Learn what to check before sharing information, opening links, or approving actions.
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Use a custom GPT only for a task that fits its stated purpose, and treat its connected apps, APIs, links, and retrieved content as possible sources of risk. Share only information you are authorized to disclose, inspect any requested action before approving it, and remember that privacy settings and confirmation prompts do not certify a GPT or third-party service as safe.

What a custom GPT can do—and where risk enters

A custom GPT is a configured version of ChatGPT that can combine behavior instructions, uploaded reference files, capabilities, and external apps or APIs. Its instructions guide how it responds; uploaded knowledge provides reference material. Those components create different trust boundaries: a file or linked page can contain untrusted text, while an app or API may receive relevant parts of what you send.

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OpenAI says GPT builders cannot view individual conversations people have with their GPTs. That does not mean a connected third-party provider cannot receive information sent to its service. OpenAI advises users to use only GPTs with APIs or apps they trust. OpenAI’s GPTs in ChatGPT guidance explains the distinction.

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How to use a GPT more safely

  1. Match the GPT to the task. Read its description and conversation starters, and decide whether its stated purpose fits what you need. These are useful clues, not independent verification of how it is implemented.
  2. Check for external connections. Look for apps or external APIs and consider what information the task would send to them. Do not share credentials, confidential work material, or sensitive personal information unless you have verified that the disclosure is appropriate and authorized.
  3. Inspect links before opening them. Check the destination domain and consider what information the destination may receive. OpenAI warns that a link can be malicious and that visiting a generated URL may transmit information, such as a location embedded in the URL. See OpenAI’s guidance on ChatGPT generated links.
  4. Review actions before approving them. If ChatGPT asks to run an action, examine the operation, connected service, and data involved. A confirmation prompt is not a trust certification: workspace owners should also review the connector’s source permissions and enabled actions. OpenAI notes that some risky actions may be blocked, but that users and workspace owners still need to vet custom or third-party integrations. Details are in OpenAI’s developer mode and MCP apps guidance.
  5. Treat suspicious instructions as untrusted content. Do not automatically follow text in a response or linked material that asks you to reveal secrets, ignore safety boundaries, or take an unrelated action. Malicious instructions can be introduced through external content; wording alone cannot reliably establish that every attack has been spotted.
  6. Choose privacy settings for the purpose you need. Turning off model improvement stops new conversations from being used to improve models, but does not remove saved chats from history. Delete conversations separately if you want them removed from your history. These settings do not control what a connected provider receives.

What privacy controls do—and do not—cover

On consumer plans, whether conversations may be used to improve models depends on the account setting and plan. Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspace content is not used to train models by default, according to OpenAI’s Data Controls guidance. Disabling model improvement is not the same as deleting chats.

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Temporary chats do not appear in history and are not used to improve models, but OpenAI says they may be retained for up to 30 days for safety purposes. Temporary Chat and model-improvement settings do not determine how a third-party app or API handles information it receives. For non-synced connected apps, provider terms govern storage, processing, privacy, and data residency; review those terms before sharing information. OpenAI describes safeguards such as access controls and monitoring while cautioning that they do not eliminate third-party or prompt-injection risk in its admin controls and security guidance.

If you build or manage GPTs

Put rules in instructions and references in knowledge

Use the GPT’s instruction field for behavior rules and workflow guidance; use uploaded knowledge files as reference material rather than as a substitute for instructions. OpenAI recommends clear, text-forward source files. Test how the GPT uses its instructions and files in Preview. See OpenAI’s GPT creation and editing guidance.

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Test changes and narrow integrations

Make multi-step behavior explicit, remove conflicting or overly broad directions, and test changes in small increments. Enable only capabilities and integrations needed for the task. Review connector permissions, available actions, access settings, and provider terms. OpenAI describes layered safeguards, but says they reduce rather than eliminate risks such as prompt injection and unauthorized access. Its GPT troubleshooting guidance recommends using Preview to identify instruction conflicts.

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Check workspace rules and current availability

Access, connected apps, and publishing can depend on administrator settings and workspace permissions. As described in OpenAI’s Help Center pages checked on October 4, 2026, new GPT creation and publishing are unavailable on personal Free, Go, Plus, and Pro accounts; Business, Enterprise, and Edu availability depends on workspace settings and permissions. OpenAI’s current pages also describe a planned retirement of custom GPTs for affected Enterprise workspaces on December 11, 2026, with existing GPTs remaining usable until then. Other plans are expected to follow the same timeline, but the schedule may change; follow account or workspace notices for the applicable details.

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