AI assistants: how to stop them from collecting and storing your personal data

Every time you talk to an AI assistant, a lot happens behind the scenes. When you ask ChatGPT a question, say Hey Siri, use Gemini, or let Google complete a sentence, there’s a good chance you’re also helping to train those systems. That means parts of your routine, your habits, and even very personal details might be getting stored by big tech companies.

Most people have no idea this is happening. Many services use your conversations to improve answer quality, tweak models, and test new features. The result is that what you type, what you say, and how you use the app can end up on servers that keep this information for a long time.

The good news: you’re not stuck with these defaults. You can reduce and control a good chunk of this data collection by changing the right settings on each platform. And by following a simple step-by-step, you can cover the basics in under 15 minutes.

What AI assistants can store about you

AI assistants feel like a private chat, almost as if you were talking to someone you trust. But depending on the service, what gets collected goes way beyond what you typed or said out loud.

Some of the data that’s typically stored includes:

• Full conversation history, including questions, answers, and context
• Voice recordings and audio snippets used to improve speech recognition
• Approximate location and device identifiers
• Browsing habits and search history tied to your account
• Names, routines, and personal details you mention without even noticing
• Usage patterns across different devices and apps

Almost none of this is turned off by default. If you don’t touch the settings, the system just keeps collecting.

What you’ve been telling AI without realizing it

It’s worth doing a quick exercise. Over the last few weeks, have you asked an AI assistant about:

• Some health symptom that was worrying you?
• A financial decision you were thinking about making?
• A family problem or a sensitive situation at home?
• Your kids’ routine, school, schedules, and activities?

Each detail on its own seems harmless. But once all of this is combined into a history, it turns into a very complete picture of your life. That picture can be stored indefinitely, reviewed by people who work at the platform, or even show up in a data breach if a security incident happens.

In 2023, for example, Samsung engineers leaked sensitive internal code by pasting snippets into a ChatGPT conversation. That wasn’t a random user, it was an entire technical team, but the point is the same: what goes into the chat can slip out of your control.

How to disable collection on each platform

You don’t have to give up on AI to protect yourself. These assistants are extremely useful for research, learning, work, and everyday life. The idea here is not to ditch technology, but to understand what you can turn off right now to limit your exposure.

1) ChatGPT (OpenAI)

By default, your conversations may be used to improve OpenAI’s models. That includes chat content and some usage data. Fortunately, there’s a direct control to switch this off.

To disable the use of conversations for training:

• Open ChatGPT
• Click or tap your profile icon
• Go to Settings
• Open Data controls
• Turn off the Improve the model for everyone option

When you turn this off, your conversations stop being used to train the models. But there’s an important detail: even with this option disabled, OpenAI may keep records of your chats for up to 30 days for security and abuse monitoring.

To download or delete your data:

• In Settings > Data controls, use the Export data option to download what OpenAI stores about you
• Use Delete all chats to clear the history saved in your account

2) Google Gemini and other Google AI features

Google’s AI features, like Gemini and AI-powered answers, rely heavily on your Google Account activity. That includes searches, other apps, and usage history.

To limit this collection:

• Go to myactivity.google.com while logged into your account
• Click Web & App Activity
• Turn this activity off or set auto-delete to 3 months
• Then go to gemini.google.com
• Open Settings and go to Gemini Apps Activity
• Turn off saving Gemini interactions

Keep in mind that when you turn these options off, you lose some personalization in services like Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Search itself. It’s all about balancing convenience and privacy.

3) Microsoft Copilot

Copilot is increasingly integrated into Windows, Microsoft 365, and the Edge browser. Because of that, it can see a big chunk of your digital life: files, emails, browsing, and more.

To review and clear what’s already been collected:

• Go to account.microsoft.com/privacy and sign in
• In the side menu, click Privacy
• Find the App and service activity section and review the history shown
• Use Clear all activity or delete individual items
• Scroll to App and service performance data and clear this information if available
• Look for the Copilot area and click Manage Microsoft Copilot data to review and delete interactions

On Windows 11:

• Open Settings
• Go to Privacy & security
• Open Diagnostics & feedback
• Turn off Optional diagnostic data

Microsoft does not offer a single switch that fully disables all Copilot-related collection. You need to review multiple areas in the account panel and system settings. On corporate accounts, you’ll also have rules enforced by the IT team.

4) Amazon Alexa

By default, Alexa keeps voice recordings and transcriptions of your commands. In some cases, Amazon employees or contractors may listen to snippets to improve speech recognition quality.

To stop your recordings from being used to improve Alexa:

• Open the Alexa app on your phone
• Tap More (three-line icon)
• Go to Alexa Privacy
• Scroll to Manage your Alexa data
• Tap Help improve Alexa
• Turn off Use voice recordings
• Confirm by tapping Turn off

To stop Alexa from keeping your audio:

• In the same menu, tap Voice recordings and transcripts
• Select Do not save so your commands are not stored long term

5) Apple Siri

Apple usually takes a stronger stance on privacy, but Siri still collects data to work better, especially for voice recognition and dictation.

To limit Siri’s use of your data:

• On your iPhone, open Settings
• Tap Privacy & Security
• Go to Analytics & Improvements
• Turn off Share iPhone & Apple Watch Analytics
• Scroll down and disable Improve Siri & Dictation

To delete your Siri history:

• Go to Settings
• Open Siri or Apple Intelligence & Siri, depending on your iOS version
• Tap Siri & Dictation History
• Select Delete Siri & Dictation History

These changes reduce how much data Apple uses to fine-tune Siri and other smart features, keeping more processing on-device whenever possible.

Why this doesn’t fix everything

Tweaking these settings is an important step, but it’s not a complete data protection solution. These adjustments mainly control what each platform will collect from you going forward. They don’t automatically erase everything that’s already been stored, and they don’t stop other companies from building profiles about you using external sources.

There’s another group of players in this space: data brokers. They build massive dossiers using:

• Public records
• Marketing databases
• People-search websites
• Information cross-referenced over time

These companies don’t need your AI chat history to know a lot about your life. In many cases, your name, address, phone number, and close relatives already appear on a bunch of sites you’ve never even visited.

Unlike AI assistants, these sites rarely offer a single control center where you can just log in and turn data collection off. You can request removal manually, but it takes time, needs to be repeated, and often comes back after a few months, because databases are constantly updated.

In the end, the goal is to make it much harder for scammers, snoops, and criminals to find your data with a quick search. Less exposure means fewer opportunities for targeted attacks, social engineering, and fraud that mixes leaked data with public information.

Privacy is not a one-time setting, it’s a routine

AI assistant privacy controls are an important part of the puzzle, but they’re not the final chapter. They help set boundaries for systems that, by default, collect a lot, but they don’t replace a basic digital hygiene routine.

It helps to see privacy as something ongoing, not a one-and-done task. That includes:

• Regularly reviewing each service’s settings
• Deleting old histories that no longer make sense to keep
• Thinking twice before pasting very sensitive information into any AI chat
• Distinguishing what can go to a public cloud model and what needs to stay restricted

The good news is that you don’t have to abandon AI assistants to gain more privacy. With a few quick reviews and a bit of attention to the type of data you share, you can enjoy the benefits of the tech without handing over so much of your life on a silver platter.

In the end, the question is pretty straightforward: how much of your digital life are you willing to leave in the hands of big platforms in exchange for convenience? Thinking about that is already the first step to tuning your settings in a way that actually matches your comfort level with personal data.