Is ChatGPT safe? For everyday tasks like drafting emails, brainstorming and learning, yes, as long as you control what you paste. This free checker tells you, item by item, whether something is OK, Careful or Don’t for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot, based on each company’s own privacy and data-use pages.
It also scans your text for passwords, API keys, card numbers and contact details before you paste it, and gives you a cleaned-up copy. The scan runs in your browser, so nothing you type leaves this page.
Free AI privacy checker
Is it safe to paste this into AI?
Pick what you want to paste and the AI tool you use. You get a clear OK, Careful or Don't, the reason, and how to turn off training in that tool, based on each company's own privacy pages. Then scan your text for passwords, keys and personal details before you paste it.
1. What do you want to paste?
Pick everything that applies.
Get a one-page AI privacy policy for your team
Unlock a ready-to-share page of AI privacy rules, filled in for the tool you picked: what never to paste, what needs the work account, and the settings to turn on. Copy it into Slack or print it.
Unlocked: your one-page team rules are just below. You are also on the weekly HOW TO // AI newsletter.
Free. You also get the HOW TO // AI newsletter once a week. Unsubscribe any time.
Scan your text before you paste it
Paste the text you are about to give an AI. The scan runs on this page only: nothing you type is uploaded, saved or sent anywhere.
Sources: OpenAI: Data controls in ChatGPT (managed workspaces), ChatGPT pricing (plan comparison), OpenAI: ChatGPT Business overview, Anthropic: Is my data used for model training? (consumer), Anthropic: How long do you store my data?, Anthropic: Change your model improvement settings, Claude pricing (plan comparison), Anthropic: Is my data used for model training? (commercial), Google: Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, Google: Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub, Microsoft: Copilot for individuals, your activity history, Microsoft: Copilot for individuals, your privacy controls, Microsoft: Data protection in Copilot Chat for work or school, Microsoft Learn: Enterprise data protection in Copilot, checked October 18, 2026. The verdicts are our plain-English reading of those pages, not legal advice. Your employer's or school's AI policy comes first. The scanner looks for common patterns, so it can miss things or flag harmless text: read your text too.
How to use the checker
- Pick everything you plan to paste, like customer data, your own health question or source code.
- Choose your AI tool and plan. Personal plans and work plans handle your data differently.
- Tick the box if you already turned off training or you’re using a temporary chat.
- Paste your text into the scanner and copy the cleaned-up version, with placeholders like [EMAIL] instead of real details.
What OpenAI does with your ChatGPT chats
- Free, Go, Plus and Pro: OpenAI’s pricing page lists “Content is used to train our models” as “Opt-out available”. In other words, training is on until you turn it off.
- How to turn it off: open Settings, then Data controls, and turn off Improve the model for everyone. OpenAI says new conversations then won’t be used to train its models, though they still appear in your history.
- Temporary Chat: it doesn’t appear in your history, doesn’t create memories, isn’t used to improve models, and may be kept for up to 30 days for safety.
- Feedback counts: if you click thumbs up or down, OpenAI says the whole conversation may be used for training, even after you opt out.
- Business, Enterprise and Edu: OpenAI says it does not use content from these workspaces to train its models by default.
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Copilot: privacy at a glance
| Tool and plan | Used to train models? | Option for a private chat |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro | Yes, unless you opt out | Temporary Chat (kept up to 30 days) |
| ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu | Not by default | Your workspace’s rules apply |
| Claude Free, Pro, Max | Only if you allow it in Privacy settings (listed as opt-out) | Incognito chat |
| Claude Team, Enterprise | Not by default | Admin controls |
| Gemini, personal Google account | Yes while Keep Activity is on, and some chats are read by human reviewers | Temporary Chat (kept 72 hours) |
| Gemini, work or school account | Not outside your domain without permission | Admin controls |
| Copilot app, personal Microsoft account | Microsoft says prompts and files aren’t used to train foundation models | Delete chats, manage Saved memories |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, work account | Microsoft says prompts and responses aren’t used to train foundation models | Enterprise data protection |
The big difference is personal versus work plans. Work plans that your employer pays for usually keep your content out of training by default, and your company’s own agreements apply. A personal account isn’t covered by those agreements, even if you pay for it.
What never to paste into any AI chat
- Passwords, API keys and login codes. No AI tool needs the real thing to help you. Use a placeholder like [API_KEY].
- Card, bank and Social Security numbers. The AI can explain a statement without the real number.
- Photos of IDs and passports. Describe the problem in words instead.
- Other people’s personal or health data in a personal account. Use the tool your employer approved, or remove names and contact details first.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. If your employer or school has an AI policy, it comes first.
If you already pasted something sensitive
- Delete the chat. Anthropic says deleted Claude chats leave its back-end storage within 30 days. Google keeps Gemini chats that human reviewers already looked at for up to 3 years, even after you delete your activity.
- Change any password or key you pasted, right away.
- If it was work data, tell your IT or security team the same day.
- Turn off training, or switch to a temporary chat, before your next sensitive question.
Related on HOW TO // AI
- AI acceptable use policy template: a free, ready-to-edit policy for your whole team.
- The shadow AI policy your IT team needs: how to handle AI tools people already use.
- What does AI actually know about you?: a 10-minute privacy audit of your AI accounts.
- AI chatbot pricing compared: which plans keep your data out of training, and what they cost.
Checked against OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft privacy and help pages on October 18, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT safe to use?
For everyday tasks, yes, if you control what you share. Personal plans use your chats to train OpenAI's models unless you turn that off, so leave out passwords, financial numbers and other people's personal data.
Does ChatGPT save what I type?
Yes. Regular chats stay in your history until you delete them. OpenAI says Temporary Chats don't appear in your history, aren't used to train models and may be kept for up to 30 days for safety.
How do I stop ChatGPT from training on my chats?
Open Settings, select Data controls and turn off Improve the model for everyone. When you're signed in, the setting applies to your account on every device.
Is it safe to put work documents into ChatGPT?
Use the plan your employer approved. OpenAI says it doesn't use Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace content for training by default, while a personal account isn't covered by your company's agreements.
Is Claude or Gemini safer than ChatGPT for privacy?
It depends on the plan and settings. Claude's personal plans use chats for training only if you allow it, while Gemini with a personal account and Keep Activity on uses chats for training and has some read by human reviewers.