Should AI Know Your Secrets?

Anything you tell AI is saved somewhere. Even private-feeling chats aren't really private.

If you tell AI something embarrassing or secret, it could come back to you in unexpected ways.

Three things you can do for privacy

• Use 'private mode' when available
• Don't sign in if you don't have to
• Delete your conversation history regularly

The big idea: AI is not really a private place. Treat it like writing in a notebook someone might read.

Once a photo goes into an AI tool, you don't know where it ends up. To stay safe, keep pictures of you, your family, and your house off AI apps unless a grown-up says it's okay.

Some examples

• Don't upload selfies to AI photo-editing apps without a grown-up's permission.
• Skip apps that want photos of your school or your address.
• Never share photos of your siblings without asking them.
• If a website asks for a photo and feels off, close it and tell an adult.

Try it!

Make a list of photo types that are SAFE for AI (like a drawing you made) versus NOT safe (like a selfie at home).

What you type into AI can be saved or seen by other people who run the app. So keep secrets secret. Some things are just for you, your family, and trusted grown-ups.

Some examples

• Never type your full name, address, or phone number.
• Never share your password with AI.
• Don't share other people's private info either.
• If asked for personal info, say 'no thanks' and tell a grown-up.

Try it!

Make a list of 3 things you would NEVER type into AI. Talk about your list with a parent or guardian.

The specific things that should never go into AI

It's easy to understand 'don't share personal info' as a concept, but harder to know exactly where the line is in real situations. Here's a practical list: full name + school name together is too specific — someone who knows where you go to school and your full name has more than enough to find you. Home address or neighborhood plus any other identifying detail is dangerous. Anything your parents told you to keep private — family situations, money issues, health information. Passwords of any kind. Information about other people that they haven't shared publicly — your friend's problem that they told you in confidence, your sibling's medical issue, your parent's job stress. AI doesn't gossip the way a person might, but the company running the AI could review conversations, and data can be compromised in breaches. The simplest way to remember the line: if you wouldn't say it out loud at school in front of people you don't know well, don't type it into AI.

• Never share: full name + school name together, home address, passwords
• Never share: family private information, your own or others' medical info
• Never share: other people's secrets that they told you privately
• The school-hallway test: if you wouldn't say it loudly in a school hallway, don't type it in AI

When you type something to AI, it doesn't stay just between you and the screen. The company that made the AI might save your messages to study them later. That's why you should never share secrets.

Some examples

• Never type your full name, address, or school.
• Never share your phone number or your parents' info.
• Never share passwords — not even pieces of them.
• Don't share embarrassing secrets you wouldn't want a stranger to read.

Try it!

Look at your last AI chat (with a grown-up). Did you share anything personal? Practice keeping it private next time!

If you tell an AI 'my friend's mom is sick,' that secret is now in a giant computer somewhere. Your friend didn't say it was okay to share. Your job is to keep their stuff private.

Some examples

• Don't tell AI your classmate's home problems
• Don't share family money issues
• Don't put a friend's address into AI
• Use 'a friend' or 'someone' if you must mention them

Try it!

Next time you chat with AI, notice if you're about to share someone else's information. Stop and reword it without their name.

Putting friends' photos into AI tools without asking is not okay.

Some examples

• Always ask a friend before putting their photo into any app
• Some AI tools save pictures even when you delete them
• A photo of you belongs to you
• Showing a parent first is the safest move

Try it!

Look at your photo gallery and find one picture you would never share. That is your privacy line.

Don't tell AI things you wouldn't shout in the lunchroom.

Some examples

• AI may save what you type, even if you delete the chat
• Names, addresses, and phone numbers stay off-screen
• Family secrets stay in the family
• If you'd whisper it, don't type it

Try it!

Make a tiny list of 3 things you would never type into AI.

When you type something to AI, the AI company can save it. So a secret about your friend that you type to AI is no longer just between you two.

Some examples

• Your friend tells you they have a crush — typing it to AI shares it further
• A classmate's home problem is theirs to share, not yours
• Even asking AI 'is this normal?' about a friend's body is sharing
• Pretending to ask 'for a friend' still puts their info into AI

Try it!

Next time you want to ask AI about a person, pause. Could you ask the question without naming them or sharing what they told you?

Your sibling did not agree to have their habits, fights, or problems typed into an AI. Even at home, their info is theirs.

Some examples

• Asking AI 'why does my sister cry so much?' shares her stuff
• Asking AI 'how do I share a room better?' is about you — that is fine
• Telling AI your brother's grades to get advice puts his grades in the cloud
• Asking 'fun games for two kids' shares nothing private

Try it!

Rewrite this question without naming your sibling: 'Why does my brother get mad at dinner?'

Your feelings are some of your most personal info. When you type them into an app, the company often saves them — sometimes forever.

Some examples

• A 'mood diary' app may share data with advertisers
• Saying 'I feel sad' to AI is data the company can study
• Talking to a real person leaves no record on a server
• Some apps are honest about what they save — most are not

Try it!

Open the privacy settings of one app you use. See if you can find what it does with your words.