The explosion of artificial intelligence in the last couple of years has been incredible to witness, and ChatGPT has been one of the front-runners, certainly in terms of publicity, that whole time.
Run by OpenAI, it’s a generative text system that can provide big chunks of written language in response to prompts. Part of how it works involves the scraping of data from the web to use as its background, which could unnerve some users.
Regulation around these generative models is still in its early days, and the reliability of information provided by ChatGPT (even if you have ChatGPT Plus) still requires a lot of scrutiny, especially where it makes statements of fact.
So, if you’re concerned that someone could ask about your name, for example, and get back information that either isn’t accurate or misrepresents the truth unwittingly, you might be wondering if there’s a way to redact yourself from inclusion.
How to delete your data from ChatGPT
This won’t be a surprise to those paying attention to the sector, but tech regulation is a little more advanced and stringent in the EU than in other territories.
To comply with GDPR, a suite of expectations levied by the EU, OpenAI has created a form that people can fill out to request that they’re taken out of answers given to users making prompts.
You can find that form right here and fill it out, although you’ll quickly notice that it’s quite an involved process.
You’ll need to supply evidence that you’re being included in responses to prompts that you supply, so screenshots and prompts will need to be offered up.
This’ll go alongside quite a lot of details to fill out, so it’s not the quickest process – then again, it’s probably worth it if it scrubs you from ChatGPT answers.
OpenAI has the right to ignore your request, and you have to confirm that you’re not misrepresenting yourself or acting in bad faith, so it’s still a subjective system.
Of course, that doesn’t mean your data is completely redacted. OpenAI hasn’t explictly said that completing the above form successfully will stop its models from ingesting your data – just that you won’t be surfaced in results, which is a fairly key difference.
How to delete ChatGPT history
If you’re looking to delete a bit more of a typical sort of data from your ChatGPT account, things are a little simpler.
To clear the list of your previous conversations with ChatGPT and effectively wipe your history, follow the steps below.
- Log in to your ChatGPT account
- On the right-hand tab, click on the three dots (“…”) next to your account name
- Select Clear conversations
- Confirm your decision
This will reset your list of conversations, regardless of what your reasons are for wanting to do so.
How to delete ChatGPT account
If you’re instead looking to completely delete your ChatGPT account, if you’ve decided you’ve seen enough, there are some straightforward steps to achieve that end, too.
- Log in to your ChatGPT account
- At the bottom left, select Settings
- Toggle Data Controls to “Show”
- Under the new section, click on Delete account
- Confirm your decision by entering your account details and re-confirming
This is a pretty permanent solution, though – you’ll only be able to use a phone number to create two OpenAI accounts, so if you keep deleting accounts you will find yourself backed into a corner if you decide to later create a new one.
Trinity Worldwide Technologies is here to help you make technology work for your business. Trinity can implement solutions for you to access your company files securely while working from home or on the road. Contact us at (732) 780-8615 or email [email protected] if you would like more information.
Max Freeman-Mills, “How to delete your data, account and history from ChatGPT”, pocket-lint.com, May 18, 2023