How to Stop ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude From Training on Your Chats
Step-by-step privacy settings for the big AI chatbots, what they actually change, and what you should never paste into an AI tool anyway.
By default, the consumer versions of most AI chatbots may use your conversations to help train future models. For a recipe question, who cares. For your business plan, a client's contract or your medical history, you might care quite a lot.
The good news: each of the big three has a setting for this. Here's where to find them. Menus move around as apps update, so if a label is slightly different, look for the closest match.
ChatGPT
- Open Settings.
- Go to Data Controls.
- Turn off "Improve the model for everyone".
This applies to future chats. Content you've already shared may have been used, and OpenAI may keep some data for safety and legal reasons for a period.
Temporary Chat is also handy for one-off sensitive questions: those chats don't appear in your history and aren't used for training.
Gemini
Google's controls live in your Google account's activity settings.
- Go to myactivity.google.com (or open Gemini, then Settings and Activity).
- Find Gemini Apps Activity (the name may differ slightly).
- Turn it off, and delete past activity if you want.
With activity off, Google says your chats aren't used to improve its models, though conversations may still be kept for a short time to run the service. If you use Gemini through a work or school account, your administrator controls these settings.
Claude
Anthropic lets consumer users choose whether their chats help train its models.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Privacy.
- Find the option about using your chats to help improve Claude, and switch it off.
As with the others, check the current wording, as these settings have changed over the past year.
What about work accounts?
Business and enterprise versions (ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, Gemini for Google Workspace, Claude for Work) generally don't use your data for training by default. If your employer provides one, use it for work things instead of your personal account.
What not to paste into any AI chatbot
Settings reduce the risk. They don't make an AI tool a safe place for everything. Keep these out:
- Passwords, API keys and recovery codes
- Full card numbers and bank details
- Other people's personal data such as customer lists, patient details and staff records
- Confidential company information you're not authorized to share
- ID documents like passports and driving licences
When you need help with a sensitive document, remove names, numbers and identifying details first. "Client A owes us $X under clause 7" works just as well as the real thing.
Want maximum privacy?
Run a model on your own computer. Nothing leaves your machine at all. It's easier than it sounds: see how to run an AI model on your laptop.
