Artificial intelligence (AI), specifically natural large language processing models, such as ChatGPT, UniLM and Claude 2.0, has initiated a new era of technological innovation over the past year. And because of the outstanding dominance of AI chatbot ChatGPT, many people are now using it in their daily lives.
However, with its ever increasing use, many people are becoming more concerned about whether or not ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI, stores users’ personal data, and how does it do so.
So, does ChatGPT store my data? The short answer: yes, ChatGPT stores bits of your data, but there is a “private mode” you can enable, and you can delete your previous history over 30 days old. We’ll explain in detail below.
Does ChatGPT Store My Data?
As AI-powered LLM chatbots and other digital assistants increasingly find their way into our day-to-day lives, concerns surrounding user privacy and data security have become more pronounced. But before we explain ChatGPT’s relationship with the your personal data, it’s essential to understand how it operates.
As AI-powered chatbots and other digital assistants increasingly find their way into our day-to-day lives, concerns surrounding user privacy and data security have become more pronounced. But before we assess whether or not ChatGPT stores your personal data, it’s essential to understand how it operates.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is definitely the frontrunner in the realm of natural large language processing. Also known as a Generative Pre-trained Transformers (this is where the GPT part of its name comes from) its ability to understand and generate human-like text has made it practically indispensable when it comes to applications like chatbots, content generation, and language translation.
ChatGPT, like all LLMs, was trained on a specific dataset which it uses to generate the outputs that you see when you chat with it.
ChatGPT’s training encompasses huge datasets that are taken from a wide spectrum of text that originated from the internet before 2021. These datasets don’t specifically target your personal data, (nor do they contain any), because OpenAI has rigorous measures in place that remove identifying details, as well as scrub any personal information from the training data.
This is a meticulous process.
It is done in order to ensure that the ChatGPT doesn’t generate responses that could inadvertently disclose someone’s personal and sensitive details.
But even though personal information is removed from the training data, contextual information could still be present in ChatGPT’s responses. Contextual data can include general knowledge about individuals or public figures, historical events, objects, or widely acknowledged facts.
This allows for ChatGPT’s generated output to be more comprehensive, because it reveals the interconnections among the various data fragments it is correlating.
What About User Interaction?
When you log into ChatGPT, you get a new window you can use to chat with the bot, as well as a history panel that allows you to continue previous conversations.
When you send a message to ChatGPT, your input is transmitted to OpenAI’s servers for processing. User input can be in the form of a text-based question, prompt, or request.
The AI chatbot will then generate a human-like text-based response, based on the input it has received. However, users should also be made aware that OpenAI retains all of the data that is exchanged during these interactions — although it does so for only a limited period of 30 days.
Storing this data temporarily is only done, so that ChatGPT’s overall performance can be enhanced by its AI trainers, who also use the generated content to address issues such as harmful, or inappropriate, outputs.
Storing this data temporarily is only done, so that ChatGPT’s overall performance can be enhanced by its AI trainers, who also use the generated content to address issues such as harmful, or inappropriate, outputs.
However, a big concern for some users is that they worry their interactions with the AI model may be logged, stored, or analyzed, which could potentially lead to inadvertent breaches of confidentiality.
Fortunately, OpenAI has clearly stated in its terms of service that customer data is not used to construct personal profiles or for marketing purposes, and are only used to improve the safety and reliability of the AI chatbot.
The other good news is that OpenAI now allows any user to choose whether or not they want to delete their saved chat history, due to growing concerns over privacy. You will have to wait 30 days in order to do so, though. Chats that are unsaved can’t be used to train future iterations, and will be permanently deleted from ChatGPT’s system after 30 days. Note that there’s some nuance to this, which you can learn more about in our article on the Data Privacy Policies of ChatGPT.
OpenAI’s responsible development of ChatGPT will continue to be of utmost importance, due to its commitment to comply with data privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Because of this, privacy will remain a cornerstone in this ever-evolving realm of AI when it comes to handling personal data.
OpenAI’s responsible development of ChatGPT will continue to be of utmost importance, due to its commitment to comply with data privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Because of this, privacy will remain a cornerstone in this ever-evolving realm of AI when it comes to handling personal data.
Are There Other Privacy Options?
Besides regularly deleting your saved chat history, there are a couple of other options and settings that you can use to further protect your interaction with ChatGPT, one of which is having Privacy Mode enabled. This directs ChatGPT to not divulge personal information about you, or engage in discussions related to sensitive topics.
To turn this on, click on the three dots by your name on the lower left corner of the screen, which will trigger the settings menu. From there, go to Data Controls and toggle the chat history and training option.
Using this feature will facilitate the enhancement of your privacy.
Another feature that you can use with ChatGPT is Data Clearance, which lets you delete your past interactions and data from the system altogether, as mentioned above. This can be particularly useful for those who are more privacy conscious, and want to maintain a clean slate of their interactions.
That option is under the same settings menu, in the General tab.
Finally, by using ChatGPT’s Customization feature, you are able to modify its behavior within predefined limits or guidelines that are already set by OpenAI. This allows ChatGPT’s output to be more aligned with your preferences.
So, for example, you can instruct it to respond in a certain tone, or style, or as far as privacy is concerned, even avoid specific topics altogether.
Final Thoughts
So, does ChatGPT store my data? Well, the answer to this question is rather nuanced when you understand how the AI model operates.
Although ChatGPT, as a natural large language processing model, doesn’t inherently retain or store your personal data in the same manner as a traditional database or social media platform would. But it stores your interactions for a period of time, and may use those interactions to train future models.
Obviously, OpenAI uses the many measures available to safeguard user data, including making training data anonymous, restricting chat retention to 30 days, and complying with stringent data privacy regulations. And you have the option to decide whether or not to customize your experience with the AI chatbot itself and work in Privacy Mode.
However, it’s vital to know that while ChatGPT has been built to protect your privacy, using any technology isn’t free of risk, including artificial intelligence. Therefore, you should always exercise caution, and refrain from sharing any sensitive or personal information during interactions with ChatGPT whenever you decide to use it.
