With the chat-history-revealing vulnerability coming to light, ChatGPT is facing a huge privacy risk. Is there a way users can opt out of ChatGPT data collection?
OpenAI continues to grapple with the ChatGPT’s chat-history-revealing vulnerability, its services were not available for non-Plus users at the time of publishing this report. Since its inception, several users were found to put confidential work and personal data on the chat window.
For the question “Who can view my conversations?”, the FAQ section’s answer is, “As part of our commitment to safe and responsible AI, we review conversations to improve our systems and to ensure the content complies with our policies and safety requirements.”
The bug just broadened the scope of viewership, and privacy risk.
“Please don’t share any sensitive information in your conversations,” read a section at OpenAI’s website’s FAQ page. Now that the privacy risk is apparent, users can opt out of ChatGPT data collection.
Why should we opt out of ChatGPT data collection
What is common between using ChatGPT and voting? You must be 18 to do both!
The Terms of Use published by OpenAI clearly state that any user should be 18 or older. As of now, there are no provisions to verify the age when creating an account. Children could easily use ChatGPT and access content, which might not be age-appropriate.
In fact, a survey published this month showed that US students as well as teachers were quick in incorporating ChatGPT into their work.
The survey, by Impact Research for the Walton Family Foundation, found that more than a fifth of US students surveyed use ChatGPT for coursework or in extracurricular activities weekly or more.
The situation turns complicated when adults feed confidential professional data to the chatbot. Since ChatGPT’s inception, researchers have been warning against entering confidential work and business data into the chatbot.
Cybersecurity firm Cyberhaven recently spotted that of the 1.6 million workers using the company’s products, 4.9% of them have tried at least once to copy and paste company information into ChatGPT.
Global organizations including Verizon, Softbank, JP Morgan, and Hitachi have blocked ChatGPT access on their office devices. An attorney with Amazon in January warned the company’s employees against feeding confidential details into the ChatGPT.
Professional data and the need to opt out of ChatGPT
Restrictions are slowly being put in place, but what are the ramifications of sneakily using ChatGPT in office?
According to the terms of service, using ChatGPT in office devices makes you one who uses the services on behalf of another entity. In this situation, the person must have the capacity to accept the terms of usage on behalf the said entity.
In simpler terms, an employee must have authority from their employer to accept the terms of usage on the firm’s behalf.
Most importantly, if someone uses ChatGPT-generated content and another person makes a claim against the first about the output, ChatGPT is completely absolved of any blame. It is the first person who will be cornered.
Speaking of redressal, the terms strictly forbids any scope of class action by groups of aggrieved individuals.
“Disputes must be brought on an individual basis only, and may not be brought as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, consolidated, or representative proceeding. Class arbitrations, class actions, private attorney general actions, and consolidation with other arbitrations are not allowed,” says the terms.
How to opt out of ChatGPT data collection
“I am looking to remove the new ChatGPT functions added to my windows 10 and 11 PC’s without notification or permission. I am not looking to “Hide” or “Ignore” its existence. I ask for a FULL opt-out and uninstall,” posted a Microsoft Community user.
“Currently, there is no way to do that I am afraid, as the search is just a web wrapper,” replied another user. However, users of the chatbot still have a way to opt out of ChatGPT data collection, in a few simple steps.
- Access the OpenAI Data Opt-Out Request.
- Type in the email address associated with the account.
- Enter the Organization ID (This is going to be tricky!)
- Type in your Organization Name found in your ChatGPT settings.
- Solve the Captcha, and the data opt-out form will be submitted to OpenAI. A copy of the form will also be mailed to your user account with ChatGPT.
Of course, we asked ChatGPT too. Here’s what we got.
Delete or opt out of ChatGPT data collection?
The current structure of ChatGPT does not give you the luxury of scrubbing your chat by deleting specific prompts.
“We are not able to delete specific prompts from your history. Please don’t share any sensitive information in your conversations,” said FAQ page.
In situations like these, the decision to opt out of ChatGPT data collection might be a little too late. Deleting the account might be a more desirable option. It can be done in four simple steps:
- Visit OpenAi platform and log in to your account.
- Click the Help menu item at the top right
- Select the “Send us a message” option
- Choose the option “Account Deletion”, which falls under “what brings you here today?” and follow the instructions listed
The user will get a confirmation email from OpenAI when the account is deleted. Under the circumstances, it might take up to four weeks to complete the process.