Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Time is money and chat programs like ChatGPT and Bing Chat have become valuable tools. They can write code, abstract long emails, and even find patterns in large amounts of data. However, as with any technology that is free to use, you may be wondering about the privacy implications of all of this. More specifically, does ChatGPT save your data and can you trust it?
So in this article, let’s break down ChatGPT’s data storage practices and how it handles your sensitive data. We will also explain in detail how to permanently delete your data from ChatGPT and OpenAI servers.
Does ChatGPT save conversations and user data?
Calvin Enkidi / Android Authority
Yes, OpenAI saves ChatGPT conversations and prompts for future analysis. According to the FAQ page posted by the company, its employees can selectively review chats for safety. In other words, you can’t assume that anything you say to ChatGPT is kept private or confidential.
All your conversations with ChatGPT are stored on OpenAI’s servers.
Besides prompts and chat conversations, OpenAI also saves other data when using ChatGPT. This includes account details such as your name and email as well as approximate location, IP address, payment details, and device information. Most websites collect this data for analysis purposes, so it is not unique to ChatGPT. However, it does mean that OpenAI can turn over ChatGPT conversations and other data to courts or law enforcement.
How does ChatGPT use my data?
According to OpenAI, internal AI trainers may use ChatGPT conversations for training purposes. Like any machine learning-based technology, OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 language models have been trained on billions of existing text samples. However, it can also be further improved through a process known as fine tuning, which involves retraining the model on a small data set (such as user conversations).
We already know that OpenAI has made some improvements to the models since it admitted to hiring humans to simulate perfect chat conversations. Now that the chatbot is widely available, it makes sense that the company would continue to collect user data to train and improve ChatGPT. You can opt out if you don’t want your data to be used for training but this is a manual process which involves filling in a form.
Do OpenAI or ChatGPT sell user data?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
OpenAI lets anyone use ChatGPT for free, though generating responses would likely cost the company a lot of money. So, naturally, you might assume that OpenAI has found a way to sell or monetize your data. Fortunately, this is not the case. According to the OpenAI support page, ChatGPT chats are not shared for marketing purposes.
As for how OpenAI stores ChatGPT data, the company says its systems are based in the US. The company also requires anyone who accesses your data to sign confidentiality contracts and uphold other security commitments.
ChatGPT data is not sold to advertisers, but may be seen by OpenAI employees.
So how does a small startup like OpenAI serve millions of users without selling their saved data? In early 2023, Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI. The company already uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model for many of its own services, including Bing Chat. We also know that ChatGPT exclusively uses Microsoft’s Azure cloud servers to generate responses.
From all of this, we can conclude that OpenAI’s server costs are subsidized, allowing the company to continue offering ChatGPT for free. In the future, ChatGPT Plus and other revenue streams can help OpenAI make a profit without selling user data.
Should you trust ChatGPT with your data?
Calvin Enkidi / Android Authority
In the few months since ChatGPT first became publicly available, it has already fallen victim to a couple of data leaks.
In one case, A.J software bug Resulted in some users seeing other people’s chat addresses when logging in. Fortunately, the bug did not reveal complete chat logs or other sensitive data. This wasn’t the only leak either – another leak revealed the last four credit card numbers saved on some users. These incidents indicate a significant risk if ChatGPT does indeed save all user data.
ChatGPT has already suffered a data leak, but most user data remains safe.
OpenAI has been able to keep full chat logs reasonably private and away from prying eyes until now. But this may change at any time in the future if it becomes a victim of a data breach or intrusion. After all, we’ve seen successful attacks carried out against security-conscious companies like LastPass.
To this end, you should not share sensitive personal information, trade secrets, or medical data with ChatGPT or competing chat programs such as Google Bard. In fact, many companies have explicitly cracked down on chatbots for this reason. For example, Samsung Semiconductor found that its employees had shared confidential information with ChatGPT. It has now imposed a character limit on ChatGPT prompts, making it difficult to divulge company secrets.
Do you trust ChatGPT with your data?
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How to delete your ChatGPT data
Calvin Enkidi / Android Authority
You probably didn’t know that ChatGPT saves your conversations and prompts until now. So is there a way to clear all your interactions with a chatbot? Well, clearing the history when you are logged into your ChatGPT account removes the data from your view only. It doesn’t actually delete anything from the OpenAI servers.
Right now, the only way to permanently delete your ChatGPT data is to close your OpenAI account. Here’s how to do it:
- Open the OpenAI Platform page and login to the ChatGPT account you wish to delete.
- Click on helps The button is at the top right of the screen (highlighted in the screenshot above).
- Switch to a file Messages Click on “Send us a message”.
Finally, click on the button that reads Delete Account. - You should receive a warning message that you will not be able to create an account again in the future. If you want to continue anyway, click delete my account.
Once OpenAI finishes deleting, all of your ChatGPT data and chats should be permanently deleted. Keep in mind that this process takes between one and two weeks. If you prefer not to log in or visit the help section, you can also submit an account closure request to deletion@openai.com.
questions and answers
No, you need to delete your OpenAI account to permanently delete ChatGPT chat history. If you simply erase your conversations instead, your data will continue to live on OpenAI’s servers.
If you can’t see your previous chats once you log into your ChatGPT account, you may have cleared your account history or the service may be experiencing high demand at the moment.
No, you cannot export chats from ChatGPT at this time.