Your personal data might be training AI models without you realizing it. Every time you chat with AI tools like ChatGPT, there’s a possibility that your input contributes to future models unless you make a few adjustments. OpenAI gives some options to limit what data they use, but here’s the thing: the settings aren’t always obvious.
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Control Your ChatGPT Data
ChatGPT lets you manage how your information is handled. Go to Settings > Data Controls > Improve the Model for Everyone, and turn this option off. This step tells OpenAI to exclude your data from model training. These settings may vary based on your account type, though. For instance, enterprise data isn’t used to train models by default.
DALL-E and Image Data
Using DALL-E? You can stop images from being included in future training data. OpenAI offers a request form where you can ask them to remove specific images. You’ll need to provide details: your name, email, image ownership rights, and any other relevant info. If you’re representing a company, there’s a section for that, too. If your request involves many images, OpenAI recommends a more efficient way to block them, especially if they’re online.
Block GPTBot AI Bots from Your Website Using Robots.txt
For those hosting images or data on websites, you have an extra layer of control through the robots.txt file. By adding GPTBot to the file, you can instruct OpenAI not to access your data. Just add a line in your website’s robots.txt file:
User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: /
This setup signals to OpenAI’s bots (and other AI crawlers) to avoid scraping content from your website, adding an extra layer of privacy.
The robots.txt file is like a digital “no entry” sign for bots. For years, it was mostly used for search engines, but now AI bots can read it too. OpenAI claims they respect this method, but there’s no guarantee that every company will.
Staying aware of your data’s journey online matters more than ever. Take control of your digital footprint and know that OpenAI gives you a few tools, even if they aren’t always visible.