What about my privacy?
This one deserves more attention than it gets. Your caution is warranted.
When you type into a free AI tool, that text can be used to train future models. Paid versions usually have stronger protections, but most students use free tiers. OpenAI has said roughly 70% of ChatGPT consumer usage is non-work — meaning a lot of people are telling these systems deeply personal things, and the long-term data story is still being written.
Not every AI stores everything forever, and settings matter. Most major tools now let you turn off chat history/training on your inputs — but it's off by default in some and on by default in others. The line between "useful personalization" and "training data you didn't realize you donated" is mostly in the settings menu you never opened.
Treat AI chats like you'd treat a group chat at your school: assume someone you don't know could eventually read it. That doesn't mean don't use it — it means be thoughtful about what you put in.
AI companies know everything I've ever typed.
They often know more than you meant to share — but you can change that in settings, in about 90 seconds.
- Open your AI tool's settings right now. Find "improve the model" or "training" and turn it off.
- Never paste real names, addresses, medical info, or grades into a free AI tool.
- For anything sensitive, use a tool your school has licensed — those usually have stronger data terms.
- Ask Otis: "Walk me through the privacy settings for [tool I use]."
Still sitting with something?
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