Does ChatGPT share your data?

Not with other users, and not sold to advertisers. Your conversations are accessible to authorised OpenAI staff for abuse and legal review, to service providers that run the infrastructure, and to the training process on consumer plans unless you opt out in Data Controls.

Short answer

OpenAI's privacy policy is clearer than most, and the honest summary is that "shared" has four separate meanings here.

Who can reach your conversations

| Who | Access | Can you change it |

|---|---|---|

| Other ChatGPT users | None | Not applicable |

| Advertisers | Not sold to them | Not applicable |

| Automated safety systems | All traffic scanned | No |

| OpenAI staff reviewers | Conversations flagged by those systems, plus legal and support needs | No |

| Service providers and hosting | As needed to run the service | No |

| Model training | Free, Plus and Pro by default | Yes, Data Controls |

| Law enforcement and courts | On valid legal process | No |

The two rows worth acting on are model training, which you can switch off, and what you choose to type, which is entirely yours.

Training is the one setting that matters

On free and Plus plans, new conversations can be used to improve the model unless you turn the toggle off in Settings, then Data Controls. Team, Enterprise, Edu and API traffic are excluded by default. Turning it off applies going forward, so anything already collected stays collected.

Shared links are real sharing

A conversation you share with a link is publicly accessible to anyone holding that link, and shared pages have shown up in search results before. Review your shared links in Settings and revoke the ones you no longer need. This is the only route by which a stranger reads your chat, and it is one you opened yourself.

Legal process bends retention

Deleted conversations are normally purged within about 30 days. Litigation can require a provider to preserve data it would otherwise delete, including conversations users removed. That is true of every cloud service, and it is the reason a deletion policy is a default rather than a guarantee.

What this means practically

Use the platform for the work, keep the record yourself. Export from Settings, then Data Controls, then Export Data, and you get a ZIP containing conversations.json with every message in it. That file is unreadable in any practical sense, so drop the whole ZIP into ChatExports: it becomes per conversation PDF, Word, Markdown or CSV documents, converted inside your browser tab with nothing uploaded to anyone.

Once your own copy exists, you can turn training off, delete old chats, revoke shared links and stop worrying about what a policy change next year says. The copy you control is not covered by anybody's policy.

Frequently asked questions

Does OpenAI sell my conversations?

No. The privacy policy states conversations are not sold, and there is no advertising product built on them. They are used for safety review and, on consumer plans, model training unless you opt out.

Can other users see my chats?

Only through a share link you created yourself. Those pages are public to anyone holding the link, so revoke the ones you no longer need in Settings.

How do I stop my data being used for training?

Settings, then Data Controls, then turn off the model improvement toggle. Temporary Chat excludes individual conversations as well.

Does a work account change who sees my chats?

Yes. On Team and Enterprise workspaces, administrators can access workspace data and compliance exports, while training is excluded by default.