They are saved
By default your conversations are stored in your account so you can go back to them. You can delete them or use a temporary chat, but the default is to keep them.
AI privacy · explainer
Is ChatGPTprivate?
Short answer: ChatGPT is useful, but it is not private by design. Your chats are saved to an account, they may be used to improve the models depending on your settings, and they live on the provider's servers. Here is exactly what that means, and how to use AI without leaving a trail.
The honest picture
What happens to your chats.
Three things are true of most account-based AI assistants, ChatGPT included.
They may train the model
On the consumer product, chats can be used to improve the models unless you opt out in the data controls. API and enterprise tiers usually are not used for training by default.
They are tied to you
Your chats are linked to your account and email, governed by the provider policy, and can be disclosed under valid legal requests. It is not end-to-end encrypted from the provider.
Private ChatGPT
Four ways to a more private ChatGPT.
From the smallest change to the biggest. Each one closes a different door, and none of them closes all of them.
1. Use Temporary Chat
In ChatGPT, start a Temporary Chat. It does not appear in your history, it does not use or update memory, and it is not used to train the models. OpenAI says it may still keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety reviews.
2. Turn off training
In Settings, Data controls, switch off "Improve the model for everyone". Your future chats stop feeding training, but they are still saved in your account until you delete them.
3. Use it logged out
ChatGPT works without an account. Nothing is tied to an email, but your messages still reach OpenAI with your IP address and browser details, under the same privacy policy.
4. Use an AI with no account at all
Services like NOLO or DuckDuckGo's Duck.ai never ask who you are. With NOLO your history stays in your own browser. The trade-off is honest: they do not run the same top models as ChatGPT. See how they compare.
A different approach
Private by default, not by setting.
You can harden ChatGPT's settings, but you still need an account and the data still leaves your device. NOLO starts from the opposite place.
The usual AI
- Account and email requiredA profile is tied to your identity.
- Chats stored server-sideOn the provider, per its policy.
- May train on your dataUnless you find and change the setting.
NOLO
- No account, no emailAn anonymous ID on your device is your access.
- History stays in your browserNOLO has no database of your chats.
- No training, zero retentionGDPR-compliant providers that discard your message after answering.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Yes. By default your chats are stored in your account so you can revisit them. You can delete them, and consumer ChatGPT offers a "temporary chat" mode that isn't saved to history. Exact behaviour depends on your plan and settings, so check OpenAI's current policy.
For the consumer product, by default your conversations can be used to help improve the models unless you turn that off in the data controls. The API and enterprise/team products are generally not used for training by default. Policies change, so verify the latest terms for your plan.
Your chats are tied to your account and governed by the provider's privacy policy. A small number of authorised staff or systems may access content for safety and abuse reasons, and content can be disclosed under valid legal requests. It is not end-to-end encrypted from the provider.
Turn off model-training in the data controls, use temporary chats, avoid pasting sensitive personal data, and delete old conversations. But you still need an account, and the data still lives on the provider's servers.
More private, not fully private. A Temporary Chat stays out of your history and memory and is not used for training, but it still goes to OpenAI, it is still tied to your account if you are logged in, and OpenAI may keep it for up to 30 days for safety reviews.
Yes. NOLO is an AI chat with no account and no email, your history is stored in your own browser (not a NOLO database), and the chat models run on GDPR-compliant providers configured for zero data retention that don't train on your chats.
Use AI that
forgets you on purpose.
No account, no email, no tracking, and your history stays on your device. Open NOLO in your browser and see the difference.