Guide, 4 min read

Keep your private info safe with AI

AI can help with almost anything, but it does not need your secrets to do it. A few simple habits get you great answers and keep private things private.

Where your words go

When you type into an AI app, your words leave your device and go to the company that runs it. Each company has its own rules about what it keeps, for how long, and whether it uses chats to improve its AI. Those rules differ from app to app, and they change.

So here is a simple habit: only paste what you would be fine with a stranger at that company reading. That sounds strict, but most prompts do not need private details at all. The AI needs the situation, not the secrets.

Never paste these

  • Passwords and login codes. No prompt ever needs them, not even to check if a password is strong.
  • Account and ID numbers. Bank, card and loan numbers, plus Social Security, passport and driver's license numbers.
  • Health details with a name on them. Your records or anyone else's. You can ask what a test result means without your name, birthday or patient number.
  • Client and customer details. Names with phone numbers, addresses, orders, case files, or anything you promised to keep private.
  • Other people's private info. Their messages, photos, addresses or secrets, unless they said it is OK.
  • Work secrets. Plans, contracts, prices or code your employer has not made public. Check your workplace rules on AI first.

Swap details for placeholders

Most prompts work just as well with the private parts taken out. Replace each one with a placeholder in square brackets, like [client name] or [amount]. When the answer comes back, fill in the real details yourself.

Before

Write a letter to my bank about a $482 charge I did not make. My card number is 4417 2290 1185 3302, my name is Maria Lopez and I live at 12 Oak Street.

After

Write a letter to my bank about a charge on my card that I did not make. Use [my name], [my address], [last 4 digits of my card] and [the amount] as placeholders so I can fill them in. Keep it polite and firm, under 150 words, and list what I should attach.

The AI writes the same letter either way. In the second one, your card number and address never leave your device.

When a detail matters, make it general. "A client in her 60s" works as well as her name. "About $5,000" works as well as the exact balance. "My manager" works as well as his name.

Copy this

You are a helpful writer who works with placeholders instead of private details. Here is what I need: [what you need, with names and numbers swapped for placeholders] Rules: - Keep every placeholder exactly as I wrote it, so I can fill it in later. - Do not ask me for real names, numbers, addresses or passwords. - If you need more to do a good job, ask for the general kind of detail, like a rough amount or a job title. At the end, list every placeholder in your answer so I can fill them all in.

Check your app's data settings

Every AI app has its own settings, and they change over time. Do not trust any guide, this one included, to tell you what your app does today. Open its settings and its privacy page, and look for these:

  • Training. Whether your chats are used to improve the AI, and whether you can turn that off.
  • History. How long chats are kept, and how to delete one chat or all of them.
  • Private chats. Whether there is a chat mode that is not saved to your history.
  • Memory. Whether the app remembers things about you between chats, and how to see and clear what it saved.
  • Sharing. Who can see a chat you share by link.
  • Work and school accounts. These can follow different rules, set by your employer or school.

If you cannot find a clear answer, assume your chats are kept. You can also read how this site handles what you type.

Habits that keep you safe

  • Look before you upload. Check photos and screenshots for mail, name tags, screens, house numbers or license plates in the background.
  • Clean files first. Before you upload a document, delete the parts the AI does not need, like account pages or signatures.
  • Keep secrets out of instructions. If you set up your own assistant, leave private details out of its instructions. See set up your own AI assistant.
  • Ask before you share someone else's story. A coworker's message or a friend's problem belongs to them. Leave out names, or ask first.
  • Fix mistakes fast. If you paste something private by accident, delete the chat. If it was a password, change it right away.

Context still makes answers better, as long as it is the right kind. How to give AI the right context shows what helps.

A simple test: if you would not write it on a postcard, do not paste it into a chat.