Chatbot privacy policies: Who’s collecting what?
Shocker! Another Communist China company was caught red-handed. DeepSeek AI shares user data with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. The BBC reports countries worldwide are yanking it from app stores, and I bet we’ll see bans here roll out soon.
Here’s the bigger issue. AI chatbots are always on, always listening and always collecting data. Some are sneakier than others, but make no mistake, if you’re using them, they’re using you. The real question is: How much of your data are they scooping up, and where is it going?
Who’s collecting what?
I combed through the vague, confusing privacy policies so you don’t have to. Links included, though, if you’re curious and want to read legalese.
ChatGPT: Data collected includes your prompts, devices and when and where you’re chatting from. Oh and they might give it to “vendors and service providers.”
Microsoft Copilot: Any interaction can be logged and used to target ads. The bot sees where you are when you use it, too.
Google Gemini: Your chats, location and how you use Gemini are logged. Your chats might be reviewed by Google staff. Google promises this is to improve Gemini, not to sell ads (for now).
DeepSeek: All your conversations, locations and typing patterns are saved. These can be shared with advertisers, other agencies and, presumably, the Chinese government and other companies. Yikes.
Qwen: Another Chinese AI that saves everything from your location to your chat history. Qwen can link all this up with data bought from “third party agencies.” Yes, they’re buying even more info about you.
So, what’s the verdict?
No one comes out of this with a gold star. Gemini is probably the safest for now. It’s separate from Google’s ad business and they do at least give you controls, like auto-deleting chats.
If they’re all “meh” the privacy scale, it’s up to you to keep your data safe.
- Watch what you say: Never share business secrets, passwords or anything personal. Assume everything you type is stored somewhere.
- Use a browser, not an app: Apps can track way more data, including precise location. A browser in incognito or private mode limits tracking and cookies.
- Tweak your settings: ChatGPT lets you disable chat history so your conversations aren’t used for AI training. Gemini lets you auto-delete chats.
- Avoid logging in when possible: Some chatbots work without an account, reducing how much they can track. Use a Guest login, too.
Tech nerd alert
One of the safest ways to use AI is to run models locally on your own laptop. It means nothing gets sent to the cloud, and you don’t need to have a hugely powerful machine for this (though your answers come back a lot quicker if you do).
LM Studio is one of the best picks for this, and gives you a few different AIs to choose from. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of storage space on your system before you get started — and be sure to regularly update your chosen models with fresh downloads from the web.
💡 Word of the day: “Zuckerberg” is what you call a person who does not respect your privacy.
Tags: AI (artificial intelligence)
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