The 10-Minute AI Privacy Check: What Your Chatbots Remember About You

AI assistants got better at remembering this year. They save details about you, learn from your chats, and connect to your email, files and calendar. That is useful, and it is worth ten minutes to see what each one holds.

For every assistant you use, check three things: what it has saved, whether your chats train the model, and which apps it can reach.

ChatGPT

• What it saved: open Settings > Personalization > Memory. Read the saved memories and delete any you don't want kept.
• Training: open Settings > Data controls and turn off Improve the model for everyone. New conversations then aren't used to train OpenAI's models, and they still appear in your history.
• Connected apps: open Settings > Apps, choose an app, open the account's more options menu, and select Disconnect.

Deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a memory created from it, so remove both. For a one-off sensitive question, use a Temporary Chat: it does not create or update memories. OpenAI says temporary chats may still be retained for up to 30 days for safety purposes.

Gemini

• What it saved: on the web, open the menu, then Settings and help > Activity. You can turn Keep activity off, or choose Turn off and delete activity.
• Auto-delete: set activity to delete after 3, 18 or 36 months. The default is 18.
• Connected apps: check the Connected Apps settings and switch off any Google apps, such as Gmail, Drive or Photos, that Gemini doesn't need.

Two details matter here. With activity on, Google uses your chats to improve its services, and a subset is read by human reviewers. Reviewed chats are disconnected from your account, but they are kept for up to three years even if you delete your activity. And when activity is off, chats are still saved with your account for up to 72 hours.

Microsoft Copilot

• Training: Microsoft uses consumer Copilot conversations for AI training by default, with some exceptions such as users under 18. On copilot.com, select your profile icon, then your profile name, then Privacy. Turn off Training on conversation activity and Training on voice conversations.
• What it saved: select your profile icon, your profile name, then Memory > Personalization and memory. Use Delete all Memory to clear it, or tell Copilot to forget one specific thing.
• History: Copilot stores conversation activity for 18 months by default. You can delete single conversations or your whole history at any time.

In the mobile app, the privacy settings sit under the menu, then your profile icon, then Account > Privacy.

Siri on iPhone

• Is Siri AI on? In iOS 27, Siri AI is a beta that you switch on yourself under Settings > Siri. Once on, it uses personal context from apps such as Messages, Mail, Calendar, Notes and Reminders.
• Delete history: go to Settings > Siri > Siri & Dictation History and tap Delete Siri & Dictation History.
• Stop sharing recordings: Improve Siri & Dictation is opt-in. To check it, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements.

Apple says Siri AI runs on the device and on Private Cloud Compute, where personal data is not stored or made accessible to Apple.

Keep one habit

Menus move and new features arrive switched on, so repeat this check every few months. It pairs well with a 15-minute privacy audit of forgotten apps.

Whatever the settings say, keep passwords, ID numbers and card details out of any chat. Google's own guidance is not to enter anything you wouldn't want a reviewer to see.

The short version

• Review and delete saved memories in each assistant.
• Turn off training on your chats where the option exists.
• Disconnect apps the assistant doesn't need.
• Repeat every few months.

Setting up an always-on agent next? Read how to set up your first ChatGPT dot without giving it too much access.

Sources

• Memory in ChatGPT, OpenAI
• Data controls in ChatGPT, OpenAI
• Manage & delete your activity in Gemini Apps, Google
• Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, Google
• Microsoft Copilot privacy controls, Microsoft
• Privacy FAQ for Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft
• Siri, Dictation & Privacy, Apple