Is ChatGPT safe to use?
General-purpose AI assistant by OpenAI. Text generation, conversation, code help, image generation, and more.
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026
Does ChatGPT train on what you type?
Yes, unless you switch it off — and you can.
Can you turn ChatGPT's training off?
Settings → Data Controls → turn off "Improve the model for everyone." This stops future conversations from being used to train models but does not delete prior chats or disable chat history. For sensitive prompts, use Temporary Chat; API, Business, Enterprise, and Education usage is excluded from training by default.
Is what you put into ChatGPT private?
OpenAI collects ChatGPT prompts, responses, device information, and usage patterns. Consumer chats may be used to improve models unless you turn off model improvement; Temporary Chats are not used for training. ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Education, and API data are not used to train OpenAI models by default.
So, is ChatGPT safe to use?
Mostly, with care. We currently rate ChatGPT "Use With Caution" (privacy risk: Medium). Worth reading the points above before you share anything personal.
Kevin's take
“Turn off the training toggle. It takes ten seconds. I timed it.”
— Kevin
The official documents behind this review
We read these so you don’t have to. Check them yourself any time.
Wondering how we decide these ratings? Read how we review AI privacy.
Keep reading
From the Unspun Blog
- You shouldn't have to learn Spark vs Chat vs Cowork to send an emailAI apps keep asking ordinary people to choose between Spark, Daily Brief, Chat, Work, and Cowork. The app should do that homework.
- When is my kid allowed to use AI on homework?A school traffic-light rule turns AI homework fights into one sentence: green means allowed, red means none, yellow means limited help.
- Ads just showed up in ChatGPT — how to tell an answer from a pitchChatGPT ads are live on Free and Go in 31 European markets. The useful move is reading the label before treating a pitch as advice.
Knowing what’s safe is half of it.
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