Does AI train on your chats? How to turn it off in each app

Name: IacuWise
Author: IacuWise

Last verified: October 18, 2026 — every figure checked against the official page linked next to it.

Every major AI chat app can use conversations from personal accounts to improve its models. Most let you switch that off, but the setting has a different name and lives in a different menu in each one. Here is what each provider says, where the switch is, and how long your chats are kept.

Key findings

All eight services listed can use chats from personal plans for training. All except DeepSeek offer a named setting to stop it; Claude asks you to choose, and Perplexity says its setting is on by default.
Turning training off only affects future chats. Anthropic, Perplexity and Microsoft say so explicitly: data already used is not removed.
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok each have a private mode that is never used for training: Temporary Chat, Incognito, temporary chats and Private Chat.

Training settings, service by service

Personal (consumer) accounts. Business, enterprise and education plans have different defaults; see below.

Service	Used for training?	How to turn it off	How long chats are kept	Private mode	Source
ChatGPT	Yes, unless you turn it off	Settings → Data controls → “Improve the model for everyone”	Deleted chats are removed within 30 days	Temporary Chat: not used for training; kept up to 30 days for safety	OpenAI Help — Data controls in ChatGPT OpenAI Help — Chat and file retention in ChatGPT
Claude	Only if you allow it; kept de-identified up to 5 years when on	Settings → Privacy → “Help improve our AI models”	Deleted chats are removed from back-end systems within 30 days	Incognito: never used for training	Anthropic Privacy — Is my data used for model training Anthropic Privacy — Change your model improvement setting Anthropic Privacy — How long do you store my data
Gemini	Yes, while Keep Activity is on; a subset is read by human reviewers	Gemini Apps Activity (myactivity.google.com/product/gemini) → turn off Keep Activity	Auto-delete after 18 months by default (3 or 36 also possible); 72 hours when off; reviewed chats up to 3 years	Temporary chats: not used for training; stored 72 hours	Gemini Apps Privacy Hub
Grok	Yes, unless you opt out	App: Settings → Data Controls → “Improve the model”. Web: Settings → Data	Deleted chats take up to 30 days to be removed	Private Chat: not used for training; deleted within 30 days	xAI — Consumer FAQs
Microsoft Copilot	Yes for signed-in personal accounts, unless you opt out	Profile → Privacy → “Training on conversation activity” and “Training on voice conversations”	History kept 18 months by default	Not stated	Microsoft Support — Copilot privacy controls Microsoft Support — Privacy FAQ for Copilot
Perplexity	Yes — “AI data retention” is on by default on Free, Pro and Max	Account → Preferences → “AI data retention”	Not stated (“as long as necessary”)	Not stated	Perplexity Help — Data collection at Perplexity
Mistral Vibe	Yes, by default	Admin panel → Vibe → Privacy → “Allow your interactions to be used to train our models”. App: Settings → Data & Account Controls	Not stated	Not stated	Mistral Help — Do you use my data to train your models Mistral Help — Opt out of training
DeepSeek	Yes; the policy gives a right to opt out but names no setting. Data is stored in China	No named setting in the policy	As long as you have an account	Not stated	DeepSeek — Privacy Policy

Work and business plans

Business plans are treated differently. OpenAI does not use content from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu workspaces for training by default. Perplexity says Enterprise data is never used. Mistral opts Vibe Enterprise customers out by default. Microsoft does not train on conversations from work or school (Entra ID) accounts, from signed-out users or from signed-in users under 18.

If you handle client, patient or beneficiary data, the safest setup is a business plan from your organisation. On a personal account, turn training off and use the private mode for anything sensitive.

Three habits that protect you on any app

Don’t paste anything you wouldn’t put in an email to a stranger: ID numbers, passwords, health details, client names. Replace them with placeholders like [CLIENT] before you paste; the AI does the same job without them.

Turning off training is not the same as deleting. Gemini keeps chats 72 hours even with activity off, and reviewed chats up to 3 years; deleted ChatGPT and Claude chats take up to 30 days to disappear. Delete what you no longer need.

Feedback counts as consent. Grok, Gemini and Mistral say that thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings can send that conversation for training even after you opt out.

Get a better answer on the first try — free

IacuWise turns a rough idea into a complete prompt for ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.

Frequently asked questions

Does ChatGPT use my conversations to train its models?

On personal plans, yes, unless you turn off “Improve the model for everyone” in Settings, Data controls. Temporary Chats are never used for training. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces are not used for training by default.

Does Claude train on my chats?

Only if you allow it. Anthropic lets you choose under Settings, Privacy, “Help improve our AI models”. When it is on, data can be kept de-identified for up to 5 years; Incognito chats are never used.

How do I stop Gemini from using my chats?

Turn off Keep Activity in Gemini Apps Activity. Future chats are then kept only 72 hours and not used for training, unless you send feedback. Chats already reviewed by humans are kept up to 3 years, separate from your account.

Is it safe to put work documents into an AI chatbot?

It depends on the plan. Business and enterprise plans from OpenAI, Perplexity, Mistral and Microsoft are not used for training by default. On a personal account, turn training off, use the private mode and remove names and identifiers first.

Does turning off training delete what I already shared?

No. Anthropic, Perplexity and Microsoft state that opting out only applies to future conversations. To remove past chats, delete them; each provider then takes up to 30 days or more to purge them.