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Freedom251 › Blog › AI Privacy

Privacy settings that stop ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot from training on your chats and files

By Freedom251 Team · · 9 min read

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There is no universal “do not train on my data” switch. Set the privacy control separately in each app before uploading sensitive material: in ChatGPT, turn off Improve the model for everyone; in Gemini, turn off Keep Activity or use Temporary Chat; in Claude, disable the consumer choice that allows chats and coding sessions to improve Claude; and in signed-in consumer Copilot, turn off Training on conversation activity and Training on voice conversations. These settings generally affect future use for model improvement. They do not automatically erase existing copies, disable safety processing, or change every retention rule.

What a training opt-out does—and does not do

“Training” is only one way an AI service can process a conversation. A provider may still retain content briefly to deliver a response, prevent abuse, investigate a safety incident, process feedback, or operate a feature such as memory. Chat history, personalization, file storage, human safety review, and model training are separate controls.

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  • Training control: tells the provider whether eligible conversations may be used to improve its models.
  • History control: determines whether you can see the conversation later in your account.
  • Memory or personalization: controls whether details are carried into future responses; switching it off is not the same as opting out of training.
  • Deletion: removes an account copy according to the provider’s deletion process, but it may not instantly remove backups, safety records, or material already reviewed.
  • Temporary modes: reduce normal persistence, but still allow short-term processing needed to answer and protect the service.

Apply the setting before sharing confidential text, source code, contracts, health information, customer records, or unpublished work. After a major app redesign or account change, open the setting again and verify that it remains off.

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ChatGPT: turn off “Improve the model for everyone”

Change the account-wide training setting

  1. Open ChatGPT and select your profile menu.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Choose Data Controls.
  4. Switch off Improve the model for everyone.

With this option off, new conversations can still appear in your chat history, but OpenAI says they will not be used to train ChatGPT. This is useful when you want ordinary history without allowing those future chats to improve the model.

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Use Temporary Chat for a one-off sensitive conversation

Temporary Chat is a separate option for an individual conversation. OpenAI describes it as a way to avoid ordinary chat history and training use. Choose it before sending the first message; changing a setting after content has already been submitted cannot retroactively guarantee that the earlier message was excluded from every processing path.

Do not confuse training with memory

ChatGPT’s memory and personalization controls govern what the service may carry into later conversations. Turning memory off does not itself disable training, and neither control eliminates safety processing. If you need both outcomes, review Data Controls and the memory or personalization settings separately.

Check the account type

OpenAI states that ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, and API data are not used to improve models by default, unless an organization has a separate agreement or enables a data-sharing option. Consumer settings should not be assumed to describe an organization’s contractual terms. Administrators should verify the workspace policy and any enabled sharing feature before employees upload company data.

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Gemini: switch off “Keep Activity” or use Temporary Chat

Turn off Gemini Apps Activity

  1. Open Gemini and your Google account controls.
  2. Open Gemini Apps Activity.
  3. Set Keep Activity to Off.
  4. Review the confirmation and leave the setting off before starting a sensitive chat.

Google says that, with Keep Activity off, future chats do not appear in Activity and are not used to train its AI models unless you choose to send Google feedback. This changes future conversations; it does not erase material already stored in Activity.

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Understand the 72-hour retention period

Activity-off and Temporary Chat conversations are still retained for up to 72 hours. Google says this short-term copy is needed to provide the service, process feedback, and protect Google, users, and the public. Therefore, Keep Activity off is not a promise that content disappears immediately after you close the chat.

Know what happens when Keep Activity is on

When Keep Activity is enabled, prompts and shared material—including files, videos, screens, and photos—are saved in Activity. Google says this material may be used to improve services, including with human reviewers. The current Gemini Apps Privacy information lists an 18-month default auto-delete period for Gemini Apps Activity when the feature is enabled. You can choose a different auto-delete period in your Google activity controls if your account offers that option.

Feedback can override the normal activity setting

Submitting feedback is a separate decision. Google says a feedback submission can include recent chat context and uploaded or connected-app content even when Keep Activity is off. Do not attach screenshots or comments containing confidential details unless you are comfortable with that additional review path.

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Files, notebooks, and connected apps have separate rules

Google states that files added as sources to Gemini Notebooks are not used directly to train generative AI models. Notebook chats still follow the Keep Activity rules, so the conversation around a source file can have different treatment from the source file itself.

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Turning Keep Activity off can make connected apps unavailable. Disconnecting an app or deleting data in that app also does not delete copies that were already placed in Gemini Apps Activity. If a file came from a connected service, review both the Gemini activity record and the original service after removing access.

Account retention can outlast your connection

Google’s current Gemini Apps Privacy information says data reviewed by service providers may be retained for up to three years after it is disconnected from your account. This is a separate retention rule from the 72-hour period for activity-off or temporary conversations.

Claude: disable the consumer model-improvement choice

Change the privacy preference before chatting

  1. Open Claude’s account settings.
  2. Go to the privacy or data-use controls.
  3. Turn off the consumer option that allows your chats and coding sessions to improve Claude.
  4. Save the choice and check it again after an account, app, or policy update.

Anthropic’s consumer policy says chats and coding sessions are used to improve Claude when you choose to allow that use, when a conversation is flagged for safety review, or when you explicitly opt in through another program. Disabling the model-improvement choice covers ordinary consumer training use; it does not prevent every possible analysis of content.

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Safety review is an exception

A conversation flagged for trust-and-safety review can still be analyzed to improve safety systems, even when you have declined ordinary model improvement. Avoid placing secrets in a chat merely because the training preference is off. Use redacted examples and remove credentials, access tokens, and personal identifiers before asking for help.

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Consumer and commercial terms differ

Anthropic distinguishes consumer products from commercial offerings such as Claude for Work and the API. A company should check the applicable commercial terms, administrator controls, and retention commitments rather than applying the consumer toggle as a substitute for a contract review.

Microsoft Copilot: turn off conversation and voice training

Use the Privacy controls for signed-in consumer Copilot

  1. Open Copilot and sign in to the account you use for the service.
  2. Open Privacy.
  3. Turn off Training on conversation activity.
  4. Turn off Training on voice conversations if you use voice input.

Microsoft lists these controls for signed-in consumer Copilot. The path is available through copilot.com, Windows, macOS, and the mobile app, although the exact menu placement can differ by platform and app version. If you cannot find a control, update the app, open the account-level Privacy page in a browser, and verify which account is signed in.

Uploaded files are treated differently from conversations

Microsoft’s privacy FAQ says uploaded files are not used to train Copilot generative models. Conversations about those files remain subject to your training and personalization choices and can be deleted. Do not generalize this file rule to another provider: each service defines “uploaded file,” retention, and conversation processing differently.

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How the settings compare

Service Control History effect File or residual-processing qualification Account caveat
ChatGPT Settings → Data Controls → Improve the model for everyone off Chats can remain in history; Temporary Chat avoids ordinary history Safety processing remains; memory is a separate control Business, Enterprise, Edu, and API data are not used to improve models by default, subject to agreements or sharing settings
Gemini Gemini Apps Activity → Keep Activity off, or Temporary Chat Future chats do not appear in Activity; activity-off and temporary chats are retained for 72 hours Feedback can include recent context; Notebook source files are not directly used for generative-model training, while notebook chats follow activity rules Connected apps may become unavailable; service-provider-reviewed data may be retained for up to three years after disconnection
Claude Privacy or data-use controls → disable the choice allowing chats and coding sessions to improve Claude Exact history behavior is not stated in the policy described here Safety-flagged conversations can still be analyzed Commercial products have separate terms
Copilot Privacy → turn off Training on conversation activity and, where relevant, Training on voice conversations Training choice and deletion are separate Microsoft says uploaded files are not used to train Copilot generative models; conversations about them remain subject to your choices Controls described here apply to signed-in consumer Copilot; paths vary by device
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A practical privacy routine for sensitive work

1. Configure every service before use

Open each account’s privacy page and capture the exact state of the training control. Do not rely on a browser cookie, a device-wide setting, or a setting from a different account. A work account and a personal account can have different defaults.

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2. Choose the least-persistent mode that fits the task

Use ChatGPT Temporary Chat or Gemini Temporary Chat for a one-off question when you do not need a continuing history. For recurring work, an account-level opt-out may preserve history while limiting model-improvement use. Claude and Copilot require their own account controls; a temporary mode in one app does not protect a conversation in another.

3. Minimize the content before uploading

  • Remove passwords, API keys, private encryption keys, payment numbers, and government identifiers.
  • Replace names, email addresses, and customer IDs with neutral labels.
  • Upload only the pages or rows needed for the answer, not an entire archive.
  • Check document metadata, tracked changes, comments, and hidden spreadsheet tabs.
  • Disable screen sharing or microphone access when the task does not require it.

4. Treat feedback buttons as a new disclosure

A thumbs-up, thumbs-down, report, or written feedback form may attach conversation context and files. In Gemini, Google explicitly says feedback can include recent chat context and uploaded or connected-app content even with Keep Activity off. Review the preview, if shown, and redact before submitting.

5. Delete stored copies separately

After finishing, delete the conversation or activity record using the provider’s controls. Deletion is not the same as a training opt-out, and an opt-out is not a deletion request. Also remove shared links, revoke connected-app access, and delete the original file from the source service when appropriate.

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6. Recheck after updates and policy changes

AI apps change menu names, account defaults, and eligibility by region or plan. Revisit the setting after a major app update, a plan change, a new device sign-in, or an account migration. Keep a short internal record of the date, account, and setting selected for regulated or confidential work.

Common mistakes and what to do instead

  • “I deleted the chat, so it was never used for training.” Deletion and training are separate. Set the opt-out first, then delete the stored record.
  • “Memory off means training off.” Memory controls future personalization, not model-improvement eligibility. Change the training control separately.
  • “Temporary means no provider can retain anything.” Gemini’s temporary and activity-off chats can remain for 72 hours, and other services retain data for safety or operations under their own policies.
  • “A file is protected because one provider says files are excluded.” Copilot’s file statement and Gemini Notebook’s source-file statement do not establish the rule for ChatGPT, Claude, or ordinary Gemini chats.
  • “The setting applies to every account.” Consumer, business, enterprise, education, and API accounts can have different defaults and contracts.
  • “A privacy toggle blocks safety review.” Claude explicitly keeps a safety-review exception, and all services may process content for abuse prevention or service security.

Bottom line

For ChatGPT, switch off Improve the model for everyone; for Gemini, switch off Keep Activity or use Temporary Chat; for Claude, disable the consumer model-improvement choice; and for Copilot, disable both conversation and voice training controls. Then minimize what you upload, avoid sensitive feedback submissions, delete stored records separately, and verify the setting whenever the app, account type, or privacy policy changes.

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