How to Stop ChatGPT Training on Your Data

By default, OpenAI may use your ChatGPT conversations to train its models. This guide shows step by step how to prevent that, and puts into perspective what the opt-out does and does not cover.

What this is about

On personal ChatGPT accounts (Free, Plus and Pro), model training on your content is enabled by default: your inputs and the responses may be used to improve future models. If you enter sensitive or personal data, that should be a conscious decision, not the default.

Step 1: Turn off model training in the settings

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT and open Settings via your profile.
  2. Go to the Data Controls section.
  3. Turn off the option "Improve the model for everyone".

The setting applies to your entire account, on all devices. It takes effect from the moment you change it: new conversations are no longer used for training. Your chat history is kept.

Step 2: Temporary chats for particularly sensitive conversations

In addition, you can run individual conversations as a Temporary Chat. Temporary chats do not appear in your history, do not create memories and are not used for training. Note: OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes.

Step 3: Formal opt-out via the OpenAI privacy portal

Independently of the account setting, you can formally object to training via OpenAI's privacy portal: submit a "Do not train on my content" request at privacy.openai.com. The same portal also lets you exercise further privacy rights, such as requesting access to your data or its deletion.

Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts

For ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu, and for the OpenAI API, inputs and outputs are not used for training by default. A separate opt-out is usually not needed there. If you use ChatGPT professionally, such a plan is therefore the more robust foundation than a personal account.

Why this matters for EU users (GDPR)

ChatGPT inputs quickly contain personal data: names, contact details, customer and contract information. Once such data flows into the training of an AI model, it is practically impossible to remove it from the model again. That sits uneasily with core GDPR principles such as data minimisation (Art. 5 GDPR) and the right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR). And anyone who enters third-party data in a professional context, for example about customers or employees, remains responsible for it under data protection law. The training opt-out is therefore a sensible first step.

What the opt-out does not do

Important to keep in mind: the opt-out only prevents training. Your inputs are still transmitted to OpenAI and processed and stored there in accordance with OpenAI's privacy policy. Personal data you enter still leaves your sphere of responsibility.

This is exactly where AEGIS comes in: the browser extension detects personal data and pseudonymizes it before it reaches ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. The training opt-out and pseudonymization complement each other. See how it works in the interactive AEGIS demo.

As of July 2026. Labels in the ChatGPT interface may change; the current information in the OpenAI Help Center is authoritative.