{"slug": "how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes", "title": "How to Opt Out of AI Chatbots Collecting Your Data for Training Purposes", "summary": "CNET reports that most AI chatbots, including Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, default to using user data for model training, but users can opt out through settings and delete past conversations to protect their privacy. The article provides step-by-step instructions for disabling data collection and removing existing activity on both platforms.", "body_md": "[AI chatbots](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-ai-chatbots/) are everywhere, and people are leaning on them more than ever. You can use them to [generate images](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-nano-banana-pro-ai-image-generator-review/), [videos](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-ai-video-generators/) and even [vibe-code apps and games](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/the-most-fun-ive-ever-had-with-ai-is-vibe-coding-retro-video-games-heres-how-i-did-it/). It's easy to get lost while playing around with them.\n\nBut not everyone is talking to chatbots in a lighthearted way. Some people are using them for [therapy](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/using-ai-as-a-therapist-why-professionals-say-you-should-think-again/), as [AI companions](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/more-than-half-of-teens-surveyed-use-ai-for-companionship-why-thats-not-ideal/) and to address their [health concerns](https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/chatbots-miss-medical-diagnoses/). Not only is that data being stored, but it can (and likely will) be used to train AI models further -- unless you do something about it.\n\nBy default, most AI chatbots and other AI tools have a setting that allows the company to use your data to train AI models, and all it does it take some tinkering in the settings to turn it off. And if you want to go even further, you can delete all of your previous conversations.\n\nThere are [privacy concerns galore](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ai-chatbots-reveal-personal-information/) about AI generally, but since chatbots are the gateway to AI for most people, it's a glaring sore spot. In order to take back your data, you'll need to do one or two things, and that's opt out of having your data used for AI training purposes and delete the data that's there to be trained on for the future.\n\nIf your data has already been used to train an AI model, there's no undo option here, so being preemptive is your best bet.\n\n## Gemini\n\nYou'll need to turn off a few settings in your Google account and in Gemini to prevent your data from being used to train AI models.\n\n- Go to\n[myactivity.google.com](http://myactivity.google.com) - Click\n**Web & App Activity** and turn it off.\n\nTurning off **Web & App Activity** will prevent your new searches, location and other data from being recorded to your Google account and used for AI training. However, turning this off does not delete the existing activity already on your account. You'll still need to click the delete button on the same page and select to delete your data from either all time or your specified range.\n\n### Gemini\n\nGemini has its own settings that you'll need to disable in order to prevent Google from using your data for model training:\n\n- Log in to Gemini\n- Click the\n**Settings** cog - Click\n**Activity** - Click the drop-down and set it to\n**Off**.\n\nSimilarly, you'll also need to manually delete the existing Gemini activity (your conversations) by clicking the delete button and selecting a time range.\n\n## Claude\n\nIf you're looking to remove your data or prevent Anthropic from using your data in Claude, it's a little more straightforward.\n\nChange Model Improvement settings:\n\n- Log in to your Claude account\n- Click your\n**profile icon** - Click\n**Settings** - Click\n**Privacy** - Set the toggle for\n**Help improve our AI models** to off.\n\nWhile you're here, you might also want to toggle the **Location metadata off** for good measure.\n\nDeleting your conversations in Claude is also easy:\n\n- Log in to your Claude account\n- Click\n**Chats** on the left sidebar - Click\n**Select Chats** - Click\n**Select all** - Click\n**Delete**.\n\nPer Anthropic's privacy policy, deleted chats are [stored for up to 30 days](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data#:~:text=Deleted%20from%20our%20back%2Dend%20storage%20systems%20within%2030%20days) in its back-end systems. If you've previously allowed Anthropic to use your data, and you turn the setting off, new and existing chats won't be used to train models going forward, but your data will be used in training that is in progress and won't be removed from models that have already been trained.\n\n## ChatGPT\n\nChatGPT is the world's most-used chatbot. If you've been using it for a while without adjusting your settings, you've probably given OpenAI a lot of data.\n\nTurn off model improvement in ChatGPT:\n\n- Log in to your ChatGPT account\n- Click your profile icon\n- Click\n**Settings** - Click\n**Data controls** - Click\n**improve the model for everyone** - Switch the toggle to\n**improve the model for everyone** off.\n\nThis pop-up menu contains two additional settings to include your audio and video recordings, but toggling the main switch at the top will disable both of these settings.\n\nTo delete all of your chats, there's a dedicated button within the Data controls menu to do this. Like Anthropic's policy, OpenAI also stores deleted chats for up to 30 days.\n\n(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)\n\n## Meta\n\nThe TL;DR for trying to get Meta to stop using your data to train its AI is that there's no guarantee. There's no elegant solution, and you'll have to [submit a form](https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/1266025207620918), which Meta may take action on.\n\nMaking your profiles private and limiting your posts will shield you the most from AI training. Or you can just delete your [Instagram](https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/how-to-delete-instagram-or-at-least-deactivate-it/) and [Facebook](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-to-delete-facebook/) profiles.\n\nInstagram users looking to get away from the fact that others [can reuse their own media](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/meta-muse-ai-image-content-reuse-deepfake-news/) can opt out to avoid the [deepfake apocalypse](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/meta-pulls-instagram-ai-deepfake-update-backlash-news/).\n\nAside from that, all else you can do is [mute Meta AI](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-to-mute-meta-ai-in-meta-apps/).\n\nI was unable to find the specific setting to get Meta to stop using your data, and Meta did not respond to a request for comment when asked for a guaranteed way to opt-out of AI model training.\n\n### Grok\n\nIt's almost surprising that Grok will allow you to turn off AI model training on X, but you can. Here's how.\n\n- Log in to your X account\n- Click the\n**More** button - Click\n**Settings and privacy** - Click\n**Privacy and safety** - Click\n**Grok & Third-Party Collaborators**.\n\nUncheck the box next to \"Allow your public data as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok and XAI to be used for training and fine-tuning.\"\n\nWhile you're at it, you might want to uncheck **Allow X to personalize your experience with Grok** and **Allow Grok to remember your conversation history**. You can also choose to delete your conversation history with Grok in this menu.\n\nThere are plenty of other AI tools that you may need to do this for if you're a habitual user. We'll continue to add to them here over time. The settings may be a bit obscured and hard to find, but if the option is there, you'll typically find it in the data or privacy settings of the selected chatbot.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes", "canonical_source": "https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes/", "published_at": "2026-07-16 17:04:13+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-16 18:13:40.638395+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-ethics", "ai-policy", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Google", "Gemini", "Anthropic", "Claude", "CNET"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-to-opt-out-of-ai-chatbots-collecting-your-data-for-training-purposes.jsonld"}}