Think About What You Leave Behind in AI Apps

AI apps log conversations. Sometimes forever. The stuff you share now might exist in those logs years from now. Be careful what you put in.

Some examples

• Personal info: do not share name, address, school, etc.
• Embarrassing stuff: assume it could be seen later.
• Family secrets: do not put them into AI.
• Anything you would not want public: do not type it.

Try it!

What actually happens to what you type into AI

When you type something into an AI app, that message travels over the internet to the company's computers. Most AI companies store conversation logs — at minimum temporarily, and often for months or years — to train future versions of their AI and to review for safety. This means the private thing you typed isn't just between you and the AI; it could be reviewed by people who work at the company, or included in datasets used to train the next version of the AI. Different AI apps have different privacy policies — some let you turn off conversation history, some delete data after 30 days, some store it indefinitely. Before using an AI app for anything sensitive, it's worth asking a parent to look at the privacy policy. As a general rule: if you'd be uncomfortable with a stranger reading what you typed, don't type it into an AI.

• Most AI companies store conversations for some period of time after you chat
• Some apps have a 'don't save my history' setting — worth turning on if available
• Never type passwords, addresses, social security numbers, or family private information into AI
• Treat AI conversations like postcards: anyone along the route could theoretically read them