By adopting a new data management technique for its ChatGPT platform, OpenAI has taken steps to address user privacy concerns. Users now have the option to turn off the “chat history” feature, which prevents their conversations from being used to develop and refine OpenAI’s models and is displayed in the history sidebar.
It’s interesting to note that turning off conversation history also turns off the plug-in system. According to OpenAI, users will be able to disable their conversation history from 25 April and change it at any time by going to the ChatGPT settings. With this new functionality, data management should be easier than with pure exit applications. When chat history is turned off, new conversations will only be kept for 30 days before being permanently deleted. During this time, they are still accessible for monitoring.
For business owners and professionals who need additional control over their data, OpenAI is developing a new commercial ChatGPT package in addition to the conversation history functionality. The new ChatGPT Business package will maintain the data usage restrictions of the old API, so end-user data won’t be used to train OpenAI models as often. The commercial version of ChatGPT is expected to go live soon.
The ChatGPT model would openly say that it could not respond to unknown requests because its training data lacked sufficient information prior to the introduction of this new data management technique. Customers now have to choose between convenience and privacy. If the conversation history function is turned off, the data will only be accessible until 2021; if it is turned on, the historical record will be used for training.
Ultimately, users have to decide what is more important to them. The new data management approach introduced by OpenAI is a step in the right direction to address user privacy concerns and give consumers more control over their data. This commitment to privacy shows that OpenAI has learned from past mistakes and is willing to make amends to build user trust in its products.
