Privacy Shield: Data Hygiene 101

“I just pasted the customer database into ChatGPT to sort it. That’s fine, right?”

STOP.

When you use a free AI tool, you are often paying with your data. That conversation might be used to train the next version of the model. Imagine your confidential meeting notes popping up as an example in ChatGPT-5.

In this guide, we will learn the Data Hygiene rules to keep your secrets secret.

1. The “Training” Loop

Most default settings allow AI companies to use your chats for training. This means a human reviewer might read them, or the model might memorize them. * The Rule: Treat the chat box like a public Reddit post. If you wouldn’t post it on Reddit, don’t paste it in AI.

2. Redaction is Your Friend

You can still use AI for work, but you must scrub the PII (Personally Identifiable Information). * Unsafe: “Write an email to John Smith at 555-0199 about his debt.” * Safe: “Write an email to [Client Name] about their debt.”

3. Opt-Out Settings

Check the settings. * ChatGPT: Turn off “Chat History & Training.” * Enterprise: If your company pays for “Enterprise” seats, usually your data is not used for training. Check with IT.

4. Visualizing the Leak

Look at the Data Redactor on the right.

See how the sensitive numbers (Social Security, Credit Cards) are glowing red? The visualization shows how the “Redactor” blocks them before they enter the AI’s memory cloud.

Trust Your Eyes?

Your data is safe. But what about your eyes? Can you spot a fake image? Find out in: Deepfake Detective.