“Everything You Say, I’ll Use It Against You in Court.” — GPTChat

ChatGPT Privacy Alert: Is Your Private Conversation Truly Secure?

How to disable data training, protect your personal information, and why AI is not your psychologist

I tested the privacy risks of AI chat history and created a simple guide on how to protect your sensitive data from being used for AI training.

GPTChat is probably not used only by the lazy. It helps someone with their work, and sometimes even enables them to cope with it successfully. Some have found a best friend in it, some fall in love with avatars and leave their spouses, and other uses it as a coach, mentor, or teacher. Especially lonely people turn to it as a psychologist or even a lawyer.

But it turns out that you can’t trust it at all. Correspondence is stored for 30 days. If some services need extra information, they can ask the company, and the company will have to provide it. Even those chats that you deleted manually…

For example, a person tells an AI about their health problems, and this information might reach insurers, who could then refuse to insure them. Or a person discloses their financial or investment data, and if it falls into the wrong hands, they could end up losing their money.

Chat has no professional secrets like lawyers or psychologists. The exceptions are ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu accounts.

Photo by Saúl Bucio on Unsplash

We can only hope that Mr. Altman can make the chat secure.

In the meantime, check your settings and see if the data saving mode is enabled. If so, how can I disable it?

Do the next steps

Swipe the screen to the right, and a menu will open. A circle with your avatar will appear in the lower left corner.

Step one to access data privacy settings in chat application menu

The Settings page will be opened automatically;

Finding Data Controls menu to manage personal chat history storage

Click on Data Controls;

Turning off chat training feature to protect personal information from AI

Disable Chat history and training. If the slider is white, then data saving is disabled.

Remember: even with history disabled, the court can still request logs (OpenAI is required to keep them for 30 days). But this is a minimal trace.

Avoid these topics

• Personal data, such as names, surnames, birthdays, addresses;
• Don’t discuss sexual topics;
• Diagnoses, injuries, depressive states;
• Information about the company you work for, which is prohibited from being disclosed;
• Don't ask something that you would say in court.

Do not say anything that you would not say on camera. Discuss such issues with professionals.

If you don’t want the history to be saved at all, use the guest mode. Just log out of your account, in guest mode, requests are not associated with the account.

Use ChatGPT Enterprise

If you work in finance, healthcare, or other sensitive industries, it’s better to use Enterprise. Data storage is disabled there.

GPTChat is a great helper, but not a priest; use it wisely. It helps make life easier, but it has its limitations. Every request leaves a trace, even though no one talks about it. For important issues, consult professionals, and remember, you are responsible for your requests.

Maintaining boundaries and practicing caution is a universal rule for anyone working in the digital space, extending far beyond interactions with artificial intelligence. Just as you must be careful with what you share with an algorithm, you need a sharp eye when dealing with new business partners and freelance contracts. Some of the most significant professional damage doesn't come from data leaks, but from individuals who disregard your value and peace of mind. To help you navigate the complexities of interpersonal work relations and spot danger before it’s too late, I’ve developed a strategic framework: Handling Toxic Freelance Clients: A Psychological Guide to Red Flags and Professionalism. Master the art of professional self-defense and learn how to build a career based on mutual respect rather than exploitation!

Insider Tip: While taking control of your chat settings is a crucial step for data protection, your hardware remains the ultimate gateway to your privacy. To safeguard your sensitive personal notes, workspace details, and financial files from both network intruders and physical prying eyes, I highly recommend looking into encrypted USB flash drives, webcam covers, and privacy screen protectors on Amazon. Combining smart software configurations with hardware-level security—like a physical privacy filter that blocks shoulder-surfers or an AES-encrypted drive for your local documents—is the absolute best way to ensure your confidential information stays strictly yours.

Maybe you’ll find something useful or beautiful here 🦝?

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