How ChatGPT Saves and Uses Your Data

Are you wondering whether ChatGPT has been saving those questions you've been asking? ChatGPT does save your data, including your prompts, the bot's responses, and other personal details you've provided to the chatbot. Even if you delete your saved conversations, OpenAI can still use your saved data to improve its AI models. This wikiHow article will explain how ChatGPT saves and uses your data, and teach you how to opt out and delete your data permanently.

Does ChatGPT save chat data?

ChatGPT saves your chats and data for as long as your account is open.
All data you provide can be used to train ChatGPT and other AI models, but you can opt out of training.
To delete your ChatGPT data permanently, you'll need to delete your OpenAI account.

Section 1 of 5:

Does ChatGPT save data?

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Yes, ChatGPT saves your chat history and data. This includes the prompts (input) you give to ChatGPT, and all of its responses. Your data remains stored by OpenAI as long as you keep your ChatGPT account open. You can view your saved conversations with ChatGPT in the left panel of the ChatGPT homepage.
- You can delete saved conversations easily—just select the prompt you want to delete, then click the trash icon.
- While deleting conversations removes them from your view, your chats can still be used by OpenAI. The only way to permanently delete your saved ChatGPT data (aside from the data that's already been used to train ChatGPT) is to delete your OpenAI account.^{[1]
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This includes your name, contact info, geolocation data, network activity, payment details, file uploads, communications, transaction history, and communications you've had with OpenAI on any platform.^{[2]
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In the mobile app, you can select Temporary Chat from the dropdown, or click the dotted chat bubble icon at the upper-right in your browser to start a Temporary Chat. Nothing you say in a Temporary Chat will be used to train AI models, won't appear in your history, and won't be used to create memories in the chatbot.^{[3]
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Section 2 of 5:

Who can access my ChatGPT chats?

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Your conversations are not totally private. OpenAI reviews ChatGPT conversations to make sure they comply with the content policy, and also uses them to improve ChatGPT and other OpenAI products.^{[4]
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Research source} OpenAI's privacy policy does state that they'll anonymize your personal information when using your conversations to improve the service.^{[5]
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Research source} But, there's no guarantee that all sensitive information will be hidden or stripped.
- Because your conversations are used to train AI models, there's a chance that sharing sensitive information with ChatGPT could leak that data to users of future versions of the chatbot. Because of this risk, many businesses, including financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase, do not allow their staff to use ChatGPT.^{[6]
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  Research source} It's best to avoid sharing sensitive information with ChatGPT.
- While your boss can't log in and access your ChatGPT history without knowing your username and password, if you're using a work-hosted instance of ChatGPT, there's a possibility that your boss or other employees may be able to learn more about what you've asked using specific prompts.^{[7]
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Section 3 of 5:

How ChatGPT Uses Your Data

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Your conversations with ChatGPT are used to train the AI model. This means that both the prompts you enter and the bot's responses are not only saved, but are also used to make ChatGPT better. If you don't want your ChatGPT content to be used to improve the AI model, or you're worried about leaking sensitive information, you can opt out by filling out this form.^{[8]
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- If you use OpenAI tools through a different API and not through the ChatGPT website, your data will not be saved or used to train AI models.^{[9]
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  Research source} If you do want to allow OpenAI to save your data when using an API, you can opt in using this form.
The personal information you share with ChatGPT may be provided to OpenAI's service providers, affiliates, law enforcement, and any parties involved in financial transactions. This includes non-anonymized data, including your name, network information, and payment details.

Section 4 of 5:

How to Opt Out of Training ChatGPT

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You can choose not to allow ChatGPT to train on your content. If you just want to prevent a single conversation from being used to train AI, select the Temporary Chat option.^{[10]
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Research source} But what if you don't want any of the data you provide ChatGPT to be used as training data? There's now an easy way to opt out entirely:^{[11]
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- Go to ChatGPT's data control menu.
- Click Do not train on my content.
- If prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to confirm your email address.
- Check the confirmation box, select your region, and click Submit Request.
- Once you opt out, your chats will still be saved in your ChatGPT history, but they won't be used to train.^{[12]
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Section 5 of 5:

How to Delete Your Data

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Go to ChatGPT's privacy portal and click Make a Privacy Request. If you want to delete your saved ChatGPT data permanently, you'll need to delete your OpenAI account. To get started, head over to privacy.openai.com/policies on any device.^{[13]
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- Deleting your account is permanent, and you won't be allowed to create a new one. If you don't want to stop using ChatGPT to write essays or improve your code, you may prefer to only opt out of using your data for training purposes—just opt out of training instead.
- Even if you delete your saved data from ChatGPT, any data that was already used to train the AI models will remain in use indefinitely.^{[14]
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If prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to verify your account to continue.^{[15]
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You'll see this near the bottom of the right panel.^{[16]
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Fill out the form and click Submit Request. To delete your ChatGPT data, you will need to check all three boxes and select your region from the menu. Once your request is approved, your data will be deleted from ChatGPT within 30 days. It can take up to 4 weeks for your account and data to be deleted.
- ChatGPT's privacy portal states that a limited set of your data may be preserved by the service where required or permitted by law.^{[17]
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According to ChatGPT's terms of use, you remain the owner of all input and have the right to use ChatGPT's output in any way.^{[18]
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You can read ChatGPT's full privacy policy at openai.com/policies/privacy-policy, and the terms of use at openai.com/policies/terms-of-use.

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If you live in California, you can request more details about ChatGPT's privacy practices by emailing dsar@openai.com.

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Warnings

For your safety, you should avoid sharing personal or private information with ChatGPT. OpenAI stated that they may occasionally read your conversations for quality assurance.

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