How do I stop AI assistants from collecting my data?

What are AI Assistants and why should you care about your privacy?

AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are incredibly useful tools — but every time you use them, the conversation you're having may be stored, reviewed by human trainers, and used to train future versions of the AI. By default, most of these tools are set to collect and learn from your data unless you specifically turn this off.

This matters because people often share sensitive information with AI assistants without realizing it — health concerns, financial questions, relationship problems, work documents, and more. Before you type anything private into an AI tool, it's worth understanding what happens to that information and how to take back control.

Never type into an AI assistant anything you wouldn't want stored on a company's server indefinitely. This includes: your full name and address, Social Security numbers, passwords, confidential work documents, medical details, financial account information, or anything about other people without their consent.

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

What OpenAI collects: Your conversations, the device and browser you use, your location, and usage patterns. On free and paid personal accounts, your data is used to train their models by default — you have to manually opt out. OpenAI Help Center

What to turn off:

Stop training on your data: Go to Your Profile > Settings > Data Controls > Improve the model for everyone > switch off the toggle. OpenAI Help Center
Delete your chat history: Settings > General > Delete all chats
Use Temporary Chat for sensitive conversations — chats from Temporary Chat won't appear in history, use or create memories, or be used to train their models. OpenAI
Export your data: Settings > Data Controls > Export data

Important notes:

Even if you opt out, OpenAI retains data for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring. SecurePrivacy
If you use ChatGPT at work through a Team or Enterprise account, training is off by default
ChatGPT's "Memory" feature remembers things about you across conversations — you can review and delete these memories in Settings > Personalization > Manage Memory

Google Gemini

What Google collects: Your prompts, Gemini's responses, your location, device information, and — if you've connected Google apps — data from Gmail, Google Drive, and other Google services.

What to turn off:

Stop Gemini training on your chats: Go to myactivity.google.com > Gemini Apps Activity (also called "Keep Activity") > Turn off. You can also use Gemini's Temporary Chat feature, which creates conversations that disappear after 72 hours and aren't used for AI training by default.
Delete past activity: In the same activity page, select "Delete all" to remove previously stored conversations
Gemini Live audio: On mobile, also check that "Improve Google services with your audio and Gemini Live recordings" is unticked

Important notes:

Whether or not you opt out of training, Google saves your account's chats for up to 72 hours. Turning off activity means your history won't be saved beyond this, but you also lose the ability to refer back to previous chats
For personal Google accounts outside the EU, the Gemini Apps Activity setting is enabled by default. EU users have stronger automatic protections under GDPR
If you use Gemini through a Google Workspace business account, your data is treated as private organizational data and is not used for training

Microsoft Copilot

What Microsoft collects: Your conversations, voice interactions (if used), uploaded files, and usage data. By default, conversation activity is stored for 18 months. You can delete individual conversations or your entire conversation history at any time.

What to turn off:

On Copilot.com: Select your profile icon > your profile name > Privacy > Training on conversation activity — switch off
On mobile: Open the menu, select your profile icon, then select Account > Privacy > Training on conversation activity and Training on voice conversations.
Delete your history: Profile icon > Account > Privacy > Clear my history
Turn off personalization: Profile icon > Settings > Privacy > Personalization (note: this will cause Copilot to forget memories it has stored about you)

Important notes:

Opting out of training will not exclude your conversations from being used for other general product improvements or for advertising, digital safety, and security purposes. Microsoft Support
If you use Microsoft 365 Copilot through a work account, your data is treated as organizational data and is not used to train Microsoft's AI models
Microsoft's Recall feature (on Copilot+ PCs) takes periodic screenshots of your screen — if you have a compatible device, check whether this is enabled in Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots

Claude (Anthropic)

What Anthropic collects: Your conversations, feedback, and usage data.

What to turn off:

Stop training on your data: Go to claude.ai/settings > Privacy > toggle off "Improve Claude for everyone"
Delete your conversations: In Settings, you can delete individual chats or all conversation history

Important notes:

Claude Pro, Max, and free consumer plans default to using conversation data for training — opt out if you use Claude for anything sensitive
API users and business customers are excluded from training by default

General tips for all AI tools

Don't share what you can't take back. Even after deletion, data may remain in backup systems for a period of time.
Use Incognito/Private browsing when accessing AI tools for sensitive queries — this at minimum prevents your browser from storing local history.
Treat AI like a search engine, not a therapist or lawyer. The information you share is processed by a company's servers.
Check your settings every few months. AI companies update their privacy policies regularly, and settings can reset or change after updates.
Use temporary/incognito chat modes when available — these are the safest options for sensitive conversations on any platform.