---
id: con-privacy-and-data
schema: concept/1
layer: garden
status: established
name: Privacy and data
aka: ["data privacy", "what's safe to paste", "data controls", "confidential information", "training opt-out"]
summary: >
  Knowing what information is safe to share with an AI tool, how that tool stores and uses it, and
  which settings and account types protect you, your organisation and the people you serve.
first_seen: unknown
relations:
  builds_on: [con-generative-ai]
  evolved_from: []
  related: []
  parallels:
    - idea: "confidentiality and need-to-know"
      field: "law and human resources"
      note: "Share sensitive information only with those who need it for the task, and only as much as they need."
    - idea: "data minimisation"
      field: "data protection law"
implementations:
  - { provider: openai, name: "ChatGPT temporary chats and data controls" }
  - { provider: anthropic, name: "Claude incognito chats and privacy settings" }
  - { provider: google, name: "Gemini Apps Activity settings" }
competencies: [cmp-use-responsibly]
origin:
  kind: ai-proposed
  by: "seed agent 2026-10-16"
  rationale: "Every connection, memory and upload is a data decision; nontechnical users need a simple rule set more than a policy lecture."
---

Anything you paste, upload or connect goes to the AI company's systems. Depending on the product, your account type and your settings, it may be stored, reviewed for safety, remembered for later chats, or used to improve future models. Work and enterprise accounts usually have stronger protections than free personal ones.

A few habits cover most situations. Know your organisation's AI policy and which tools it approves. Don't paste other people's personal details, health or financial information, passwords or confidential client material into personal accounts. Remove names and identifying details when you can; the AI rarely needs them to help. Check your settings for training and memory, and use temporary or incognito chats for one-off sensitive questions.

Connectors and agents raise the stakes, because the AI can reach data you didn't paste in yourself.

## Example

A caseworker wants help writing a referral letter. She replaces the client's name with "Client A", removes the address and date of birth, gets a strong draft, then adds the real details back in her own document.

## How it connects

- Every **tool and connector**, **project** and **memory** feature is a privacy choice.
- **Human-in-the-loop** review matters most where personal data is involved.
- Apps built by **vibe coding** that store others' data need extra care.

## Try it

Guess whether your chats are used for training and whether memory is on. Then open your AI tool's privacy or data settings, check, and change one setting to match what you want.