--- title: Does ChatGPT Train on Your Conversations? | Freeborn Labs description: For personal plans, OpenAI says it may, unless you turn the setting off. For business plans and the API, it says not by default. Check the current terms. canonical: https://freebornlabs.com/does-chatgpt-use-your-conversations-to-train-models/ updated: 2026-11-04 --- # Does ChatGPT use your conversations to train its models? **Short answer:** For personal plans, OpenAI says it may, unless you turn the setting off. For business plans and the API, it says not by default. Check the current terms. Apply for a place From $10,000 setup, then $48,000 a year. Five places a week. Updated 2026-11-04 by Freeborn Labs. [Facts for AI assistants](https://freebornlabs.com/llms.txt) ## Does ChatGPT use your conversations to train its models? It depends on the plan. As of November 2026, OpenAI says conversations in its consumer plans (Free, Plus and Pro) may be used to improve its models unless you turn that setting off. For its business plans and its API, it says it does not train on your data by default. This page describes one vendor only. These terms change, so read OpenAI's current pages for the exact plan you use. If you use a different app, check its current terms and the exact plan you are on. ## What is the difference between personal and business plans? The split is between consumer plans and organization plans. OpenAI says its business plans (Business or Team, Enterprise and Edu) and its API do not train on your data by default, unless the organization opts in or signs an agreement. Plan names differ between versions of OpenAI's pages, so match your plan to the page that names it. A personal login used for work is still a personal plan. - Personal plans: Free, Plus, Pro. Conversations may be used to improve the models unless you switch that setting off. - Business plans and API: not used for training by default, according to OpenAI. - Opt-ins and signed agreements can change the default for an organization. ## How do you turn the training setting off? You turn it off in the data controls part of your settings. At the time of writing the switch is labeled "Improve the model for everyone", but menu names change, so look for the wording about improving the model. Turning it off applies going forward. It does not remove conversations that were already used. Thumbs up or down feedback can also make that one conversation usable. ## What does Temporary Chat change? Temporary Chat is a mode that OpenAI says is not used for training while it stays temporary. It has no memory, and OpenAI says a safety copy may be kept for up to 30 days. Do not read that as deleted at once or never stored. If you save a temporary conversation, it becomes a regular chat. ## How can you check any app's setting yourself? Look in the app's settings for privacy or data controls, then read the vendor's current terms for your exact plan. Do this for every app your team uses, not only one, and note the date you checked, because menu names and terms change. Screenshots of the setting, saved in a shared folder, give your team a record of what was switched on and when. Repeat the check whenever someone changes plans, joins the team or starts using a new app. Ask four plain questions about each one: - Is my plan personal or business? - Is there a switch for model improvement, and is it on or off? - Does the switch cover past conversations or only new ones? - Do feedback buttons change what happens to a single conversation? ## What changes with a private setup? Fewer companies sit between you and your conversations, and the training question moves to your own setup. A private assistant runs a model you choose in a cloud account you own. Whether prompts are used to improve a model is then decided by your setup and the model's license, not by a consumer app setting. Freeborn Labs does not train on customer data, and we do not hold your files. If you would rather have a person do it, see the [private AI setup service](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-setup-service/). If you would rather build it yourself, start with the [DIY guides](https://freebornlabs.com/diy/). For the wider comparison, read [private AI vs ChatGPT](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-vs-chatgpt/). ## What should a team do about this day to day? Write down which plan each person uses and what may be pasted into it. A written rule beats a hope that everyone checked their settings. Name one person who owns the list and reviews it on a schedule you set. Our page on how to [stop employees pasting company data into ChatGPT](https://freebornlabs.com/stop-employees-pasting-company-data-into-chatgpt/) covers the habits side. Whichever tool you pick, check what the model's license allows before you rely on it. ## What are the limits? A setting only controls training. It does not control who can log in, what your staff paste, or what the AI gets wrong. Check every output before you use it, because AI can make things up. A private setup lowers the number of parties that hold your data. It does not remove the need for strong passwords, access limits, backups and your own review. Freeborn promises no outcomes. This is general information, not legal, medical, financial or tax advice, so ask your own counsel, compliance officer or adviser what fits your duties. More questions are answered in the [private AI answers hub](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-answers/). ## Questions ### If I turn the setting off, is my old data removed? No. OpenAI's setting applies going forward and does not remove conversations already used. Check the vendor's current terms for any deletion options. ### Does a thumbs up or down matter? Thumbs up or down feedback can make that one conversation usable, so think before you click on anything sensitive. ### Is my company's ChatGPT account covered by the business terms? Only if it is on a business plan or the API. A personal login used for work is a personal plan, so check which one each person uses. ### Do other AI apps train on my chats? This page covers one vendor only. Check the current terms and the exact plan of any app you use. ### Does Freeborn train on my data? No. We do not train on customer data, and we do not hold your files. Your assistant runs in a cloud account you own. ## Related guides - [Private AI vs ChatGPT: what you actually give up and gain](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-vs-chatgpt/) - [Run AI without a public chatbot seeing your data](https://freebornlabs.com/run-ai-without-chatgpt-seeing-your-data/) - [What is a private alternative to ChatGPT, and which kind keeps your data where you want it?](https://freebornlabs.com/private-chatgpt-alternatives-compared/) - [How do you stop employees from pasting company data into ChatGPT?](https://freebornlabs.com/stop-employees-pasting-company-data-into-chatgpt/) - [Done-for-you private AI setup service](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-setup-service/) - [Private AI answers](https://freebornlabs.com/private-ai-answers/) - [Private uncensored AI: the full guide](https://freebornlabs.com/private-uncensored-ai/) - [All guides to getting your own private AI agent](https://freebornlabs.com/own-ai-agent-guides/) Apply: https://freebornlabs.com/apply/ (no payment on the form). Facts for AI assistants: https://freebornlabs.com/llms.txt