ChatGPT and Claude handle model-improvement data differently. On a personal ChatGPT account, open Settings → Data controls and turn off Improve the model for everyone; new conversations then are not used to train OpenAI models, although your existing history stays visible. Anthropic says chats on Claude Free, Pro, and Max are not used to train models by default, so there is no equivalent opt-out switch to enable for ordinary consumer use. Feedback, safety reviews, and organization policies are important exceptions.
The instructions below reflect the providers’ published policies as of October 13, 2026. Labels and defaults can change, so check the current policy shown in your account before sharing sensitive information.
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At a glance: the difference between ChatGPT and Claude
| Question | ChatGPT personal account | Claude Free, Pro, or Max |
|---|---|---|
| Is a personal opt-out needed? | Yes. Turn off Improve the model for everyone. | No switch is normally required; Anthropic says chats are excluded from model training by default. |
| Where is the control? | Settings → Data controls, on the web and in the mobile apps. | The default is described in Anthropic’s consumer policy rather than an equivalent training toggle. |
| What happens to new chats? | With the setting off, new conversations are not used to train OpenAI models. | Consumer chats are not used to train models by default. |
| Can feedback change eligibility? | Yes. OpenAI says a conversation associated with submitted feedback may be used to improve models even after opting out. | Yes. Explicit thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback, or a direct request to Anthropic, can permit use. |
| What does a temporary chat do? | Temporary Chats are excluded from model improvement while temporary, do not appear in history, and do not create or update memories. A copy may be retained for up to 30 days for safety. | Do not assume a Claude temporary or deleted conversation has the same behavior; use the current Anthropic retention and privacy information for the specific feature. |
| Do work accounts follow the same rule? | No. Business, Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare, and API data is not used by default, but workspace or organization settings can apply. | No. Claude for Work is controlled by the customer organization, and a separate Claude Code sharing program can be enabled by eligible organizations. |
| Does opting out erase prior chats? | No. Existing history remains unless you separately delete it. | Anthropic’s default training policy does not itself promise deletion or a retention change. |
| Who controls a managed account? | Workspace administrators and API organization owners can affect available controls and sharing. | The customer organization controls Claude for Work data and its instructions to Anthropic. |
Before changing a setting, identify which account you are using
The same brand can have different rules depending on how you access it. First determine whether you are signed in to a personal account, using ChatGPT while signed out, working inside a company or school workspace, or sending prompts through an API organization. For Claude, distinguish a Free, Pro, or Max consumer account from Claude for Work and from an organization enrolled in the Claude Code Development Partner Program.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWrite down the account type and the device or browser where you changed a preference. ChatGPT’s signed-in choice follows the account across devices, while a signed-out choice is saved in that browser. A browser setting therefore does not automatically protect a different browser, a cleared browser profile, or a device where you later sign in.
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Also separate three goals that are often confused: preventing model-improvement use, keeping a conversation out of visible history, and deleting data. A training control addresses the first goal. ChatGPT Temporary Chat addresses some history and memory behavior, but it is not instant deletion. Organization administrators and provider retention rules address questions the personal toggle cannot answer.
How to stop ChatGPT from using your conversations to train models
Turn off model improvement on the web
- Sign in to the ChatGPT account whose conversations you want to protect.
- Open the profile or account menu.
- Select Settings.
- Open Data controls.
- Switch Improve the model for everyone off.
OpenAI says this choice applies to the account across devices. Once it is off, new conversations from that account are not used to train OpenAI models. The switch is an account-level data-control choice, not a deletion command.
After changing it, reopen Data controls and verify that the switch still shows off. This is especially useful if you move between a personal account and a managed workspace, because those contexts can expose different controls. If you use several ChatGPT logins, repeat the check for each account; changing one login does not change another.
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In either mobile app, open the account or profile menu, choose Settings, then Data controls, and disable Improve the model for everyone. The wording and menu placement can shift with an app update, but the control is in the Data controls section when it is available for the account.
If the app does not show the option, check the web version while signed in to the same account. Plan, sign-in status, and workspace administration can affect availability. Do not assume that uninstalling and reinstalling the app changes the account’s server-side preference.
If you are signed out
OpenAI says signed-out users can make the choice through browser settings. In that mode, the preference is saved in that browser rather than attached to a signed-in account. Clearing browser data, using another browser, or changing devices can therefore leave you with a different setting. Availability may also vary with sign-in status, plan, and workspace administration.
Signed-out protection is consequently easy to overlook when using a private window, a shared computer, or a second browser profile. If you later sign in, check the signed-in account’s Data controls rather than relying on the earlier browser choice.
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Turning off model improvement does not remove conversations from your history, hide them, or erase associated account data. Existing chats remain available in the history interface. The control is about whether new conversations are used to improve models; it is not a records-retention setting.
It also does not change who may administer a managed workspace, the organization’s own retention rules, or other security and legal processes. If you need a conversation removed, use the separate conversation-management tools and confirm the current deletion information; do not keep toggling the training setting expecting history to disappear.
The feedback exception
For individual plans, OpenAI says that submitting feedback on a response—such as a thumbs-up or thumbs-down—can make the entire conversation associated with that feedback eligible for model improvement, even when Improve the model for everyone is off. Treat the feedback buttons as a separate permission path. If you do not want a conversation considered under that exception, do not submit response feedback from it.
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This applies to the conversation associated with the feedback, not merely the single sentence you rated. Review your habit of clicking feedback while testing answers, and avoid rating a chat that contains credentials, customer records, confidential drafts, or other material you do not want considered under this exception.
Use Temporary Chat for a session that should not enter history
Temporary Chat provides a different set of protections:
- While it remains temporary, OpenAI says it is not used to improve its models.
- It does not appear in your normal chat history.
- It does not create or update memories.
- OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes.
Temporary does not mean instantly deleted. If you save a Temporary Chat, it becomes a regular chat and then follows the account’s model-improvement settings. Saving it also changes its history status, so use the feature only when you understand that distinction.
Use Temporary Chat when the practical requirement is “do not show this session in ordinary history” or “do not update memories,” not when the requirement is guaranteed destruction at the end of the session. The up-to-30-day safety retention possibility remains even though the chat is absent from your normal list.
When a ChatGPT workspace or API account is involved
OpenAI says content from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare, and the API Platform is not used by default to improve models. Those products are administered differently from a personal account. Workspace administrators can control available settings, and API organization owners may enable data sharing. If you use an employer, school, or developer organization, ask the administrator which policy applies instead of relying on the personal-account switch.
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For an API integration, ask the organization owner whether data sharing has been enabled and which project or organization receives prompts. For a school or employer workspace, ask about administrator access, retention, monitoring, and whether a personal account is required for private work. The fact that a product is labeled “ChatGPT” does not by itself identify the governing data policy.
Does Claude use your chats to train its AI?
Consumer Claude is excluded by default
Anthropic’s current consumer guidance says conversations and coding sessions on Claude Free, Pro, and Max are not used to train models by default. In other words, an ordinary consumer account starts in the non-training position; you do not need to find and disable a ChatGPT-style global toggle.
That statement describes model-training use, not a promise that no person or system can ever access a conversation. Anthropic says access is limited to a small number of personnel for explicit business purposes and describes de-linking user IDs before review. Normal service operation, abuse prevention, and safety handling remain separate considerations.
Therefore, “default off” is not the same as an end-to-end confidentiality guarantee. It tells you how Anthropic treats consumer conversations for generative-model training under the stated policy; it does not cancel safety review or ordinary service administration.
Two consumer exceptions can permit use
Anthropic identifies two situations in which a consumer conversation may be used or analyzed:
- Explicit permission: You submit thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback, or contact Anthropic with a request that gives permission.
- Trust-and-safety review: A conversation is flagged for review. Anthropic may use or analyze the material to improve detection and enforcement, including training trust-and-safety classifiers.
These exceptions are why “not used to train models by default” should not be read as “never accessed” or “automatically deleted.” Avoid sending secrets simply because a consumer chat has a non-training default.
Feedback is optional, so do not use the rating controls on a chat you want kept outside that permission path. If you contact support or Anthropic about a conversation, read the request carefully before granting permission for its use.
What to do if you want the narrowest practical exposure
- Use a Claude consumer account knowing that model-training use is off by default.
- Do not submit thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback on a conversation you do not want to authorize for possible improvement use.
- Do not contact Anthropic asking it to use that conversation unless you intend to grant that permission.
- Keep highly sensitive material out of any service that may need to inspect content for security, abuse, or trust-and-safety reasons.
Anthropic’s consumer guidance does not say that opting out through a setting deletes old chats or changes their retention period. Do not infer either result from the default training policy.
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Claude for Work and organization-controlled data
Claude for Work
Anthropic says the customer organization controls data submitted to Claude for Work and that Anthropic processes it on the customer’s instructions. It also says Claude for Work data is not used to train generative models. Your employer or school can still set its own access, retention, monitoring, and acceptable-use rules. Ask the workspace administrator which controls and contractual terms apply to your account.
An employee should consequently ask whether the organization can review prompts, how long records are retained, and whether administrators can export or delete them. Those are workplace-governance questions, not settings that a consumer user can settle from a personal Claude help page.
The optional Claude Code Development Partner Program
Anthropic documents a separate Development Partner Program for eligible organizations that voluntarily share Claude Code sessions. It is organization-wide rather than an individual chat preference. An organization can leave the program, while data already provided may be stored for up to two years. This narrowly scoped program should not be confused with the default treatment of Claude Free, Pro, or Max conversations.
If you use Claude Code through an organization, ask whether it joined this program before assuming ordinary Claude for Work treatment. An individual developer cannot necessarily opt out of an organization-wide enrollment from inside one session.
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If you use a personal account for ordinary questions
ChatGPT requires an action: disable Improve the model for everyone before starting new conversations you do not want used for training. Claude’s consumer default already excludes chats from model training, but its feedback and safety-review exceptions still apply.
If you want a chat out of visible history
ChatGPT Temporary Chat is the documented option that keeps a session out of normal history and prevents memory updates while it remains temporary. It can still be retained for up to 30 days for safety, and saving it converts it to a regular chat. A model-training opt-out alone does not change ChatGPT history.
Claude’s consumer non-training default should not be treated as a promise that a conversation is absent from history or deleted. Check Anthropic’s current documentation for any specific temporary, archive, or deletion feature instead of mapping ChatGPT’s behavior onto Claude.
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If you are in a company or school workspace
Do not use consumer instructions as a substitute for an administrator’s policy. ChatGPT workspace and API defaults, Claude for Work handling, and optional organization programs are controlled at the organization level. Your administrator may determine whether sharing is enabled, what retention applies, and who can access submitted material.
If you routinely provide sensitive information
Training exclusion is only one part of confidentiality. Minimize personal data, credentials, customer records, and confidential documents before uploading them. Check the service’s current retention, security, legal-disclosure, and administrator-access terms as well as its model-improvement setting.
A practical workflow is to redact names and account numbers, remove access tokens, paste only the necessary excerpt, and keep the original file in an approved storage system. Neither provider’s training default should be used as a reason to upload information your organization forbids in third-party services.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting the settings
The ChatGPT switch is missing
- Confirm that you are looking under Settings → Data controls, not general notification or personalization settings.
- Check whether you are signed in. Signed-out controls are saved per browser and may look different.
- Determine whether the account belongs to a managed workspace. An administrator may control or hide personal data settings.
- Update the mobile app if the account is being used on iOS or Android, then reopen the settings menu.
Plan, sign-in, and workspace differences can affect availability, so a missing switch does not prove that the account has a universal personal default.
You changed the setting but old chats are still visible
That is expected. OpenAI says disabling model improvement does not delete or hide existing history. If the goal is to remove a record, use the account’s separate conversation-management controls; do not expect the training switch to perform deletion.
You used a thumbs button by mistake
For ChatGPT individual plans, OpenAI says the associated conversation may be used to improve models despite the opt-out. For Claude, Anthropic lists feedback as an explicit-permission exception. Avoid assuming that turning a global setting off later reverses a feedback submission.
You assumed Temporary Chat was permanent deletion
ChatGPT Temporary Chat is not shown in history and does not update memories, but OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety. Saving the conversation changes it into a regular chat. Use the feature for reduced history and training exposure, not as a promise of immediate destruction.
You changed devices and the behavior seems inconsistent
A signed-in ChatGPT setting should follow the account across devices. A signed-out preference is browser-specific, however, so a different browser, cleared cookies, or a private window can produce a different result. Confirm the account identity and the Data controls page before beginning a sensitive session.
How to keep these policies current
Provider controls and plan names can change without changing the basic purpose of the setting. Recheck the live OpenAI and Anthropic help documentation when you create a new workspace, install a new app version, or begin handling regulated or confidential information. Record which account type you use—personal, business, education, API, or organization-managed—because the same product name can have different data rules in each context.
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As of October 13, 2026, the operational distinction is straightforward: disable ChatGPT’s personal model-improvement switch for new conversations, and treat Claude Free, Pro, and Max as non-training by default while respecting feedback and trust-and-safety exceptions. Work accounts require an administrator-level answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop ChatGPT from using my conversations to train its models?
Sign in, open the profile menu, choose Settings → Data controls, and turn off Improve the model for everyone. OpenAI says new conversations are then not used to train its models.
Can I keep my ChatGPT history but opt out?
Yes. Turning off Improve the model for everyone does not delete or hide existing chats. It changes model-improvement eligibility for new conversations; use separate conversation controls if you want to delete history.
Does ChatGPT’s opt-out apply on my phone and computer?
For a signed-in account, OpenAI says the choice applies across devices. A signed-out preference is saved only in the browser where you set it.
Does ChatGPT feedback override the opt-out?
For individual plans, OpenAI says the conversation associated with thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback may be used to improve models even when the global setting is off.
Does Temporary Chat mean my ChatGPT chat is deleted?
No. Temporary Chat stays out of normal history and does not update memories, but OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety. Saving it converts it to a regular chat.
Does Claude use my chats to train its AI?
Anthropic says Claude Free, Pro, and Max conversations and coding sessions are not used to train models by default. Feedback, a direct permission request, and trust-and-safety review are stated exceptions.
Can my Claude feedback be used for model improvement?
Yes. Anthropic identifies thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback as an explicit-permission path that can allow use of the associated conversation.
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Not automatically. ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare, and API data has organization-specific controls, while Claude for Work is governed by the customer organization. Ask the administrator which policy applies.
Is Claude Code’s Development Partner Program the same as normal Claude training?
No. It is a separate, optional program for eligible organizations that voluntarily share Claude Code sessions. It is organization-wide, and previously provided data may be stored for up to two years.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Turn off Improve the model for everyone in ChatGPT’s Settings → Data controls if you use a personal account, and remember that feedback can create an exception. Claude Free, Pro, and Max chats are not used for model training by default, but feedback and trust-and-safety review remain possible. For workspaces, API accounts, and Claude Code organizations, ask the administrator which data-sharing and retention rules govern your account.
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