How to delete your data from ChatGPT and turn off training on your chats

Symptoms

• A contract or a table with personal data went into the chat by mistake
• Security asks you to confirm that company data is not used for training
• You need to delete the account with all conversations

Causes and fixes

1. By default, conversations on personal plans may be used to improve the model

What to do: Settings, Data controls, turn off Improve the model for everyone. This applies to new conversations; old ones stay in history

2. Deleting a chat removes it from the screen, but it stays on the servers for up to 30 days

What to do: Delete the chat, then press Delete all chats in Data controls; for full account deletion submit a request through Delete account

3. Memory keeps facts from conversations even after a chat is deleted

What to do: Settings, Personalization, Memory: review and delete entries or turn memory off completely

4. You did not use Temporary chat, which is meant for one-off tasks with sensitive data

What to do: Turn on Temporary chat in the model menu for sensitive tasks: it disappears from history and stays out of training

5. A business needs a legally binding commitment that a personal plan does not give

What to do: Move to ChatGPT Business or Enterprise: data is out of training under the contract and there is a data processing agreement

Common problems and fixes

• ChatGPT not working: six causes and what to do
• ChatGPT declines your card: what to check, step by step
• ChatGPT message limits: how much you get on Free, Plus and Pro and how not to burn through it in an hour
• ChatGPT will not open a PDF or reads it with errors: causes and workarounds
• ChatGPT for business: company invoices, VAT and billing for a sole trader
• ChatGPT will not upload an Excel file, Word document or image: what to do
• ChatGPT account suspended or deactivated: causes and how to get it back

About ChatGPT

All-purpose chat assistant with web search, file and spreadsheet analysis, voice and custom GPTs. Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available.

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