Apple's iOS 18 AI Features: A Safer Alternative to ChatGPT?

iOS 18 could be the safest way to use ChatGPT, after GPT-4o model described as "a data hoover on steroids"

Apple announced iOS 18 at its WWDC developers conference on June 10. One of the biggest software updates we've ever seen, iOS 18 brings some incredible new features and more customization options to the iPhone than ever before. The biggest addition is Apple Intelligence - Apple's set of AI features, but iOS 18 also gives you built-in access to ChatGPT. Though it turns out that ChatGPT might not be as secure as you'd think. OpenAI has a controversial history with data privacy, notably leading to a temporary ban in Italy due to data protection issues. Recent security flaws, like the macOS ChatGPT app potentially accessing users' screens and plain text chats being easily accessible, have added to these worries. One security researcher even described GPT-4o as "a data hoover on steroids" when talking to Wired. Despite updates to address these issues, GPT-4o's privacy practices remain a concern. The privacy policy indicates extensive data collection, including personal details and usage data, which can be shared with third parties. To mitigate privacy risks, OpenAI offers controls to opt out of model training and use temporary chat modes, though these limit functionality. But surprisingly, it turns out that iOS 18 may become the most secure way to use ChatGPT. In iOS 18, ChatGPT is also being integrated into iPhone, as well as iPad and Mac, with writing tools, image and document queries, and more. With iOS 18, users can ask Siri questions and get answers from ChatGPT with the newer GPT-4o model. ChatGPT can also access Apple's systemwide Writing Tools, helping users generate written content, as well as images in a variety of styles. So how exactly is iOS 18 a more secure way of using ChatGPT? While Apple has been pretty light on details about the integration, they have shared some important bits of information around user privacy. First and foremost, you won't need to create a ChatGPT account to use the iOS 18 integration. You will be able to link your account (if you have one) to access subscription-only features, but this isn't a necessity. Which immediately gives OpenAI less data on you, and fewer ways to tie any data collected back to you. Additionally, only individual queries will be sent to ChatGPT. That restricts the amount of data sent for each request, with your earlier and later conversation remaining on-device with Siri. You'll also have to give explicit permission before any request is sent to ChatGPT. While iOS 18.1 just started rolling out to developers with its first beta with a slate of Apple Intelligence features, the ChatGPT integration is not yet live.

Apple Intelligence likely the safest way to use ChatGPT

While Apple Intelligence will use ChatGPT as a fallback option for queries which cannot be answered by the new Siri, Apple has put in place additional safeguards which will likely make it the safest way to use the chatbot ... Wired reports a number of AI experts expressing concern about the privacy of personal data when using OpenAI's latest model, ChatGPT-4o. The company's casual attitude to privacy was highlighted when it was revealed that the Mac app stored chat logs in plain text. The current model allows you to ask verbal questions and to give access to your device's camera to see what you are seeing, and the company's privacy policy appears to make both your voice and your images fair game for training. AI consultant Angus Allan says the privacy policy gives the company permission to use all of the personal data exposed to it. "Their privacy policy explicitly states they collect all user input and reserve the right to train their models on this." The catch-all "user content" clause likely covers images and voice data too, says Allan. "It's a data hoover on steroids, and it's all there in black and white. The policy hasn't changed significantly with ChatGPT-4o, but given its expanded capabilities, the scope of what constitutes 'user content' has broadened dramatically." Another consultant, Jules Love, agrees. "It uses everything from prompts and responses to email addresses, phone numbers, geolocation data, network activity, and what device you're using." Apple's own AI offers an "extraordinary" level of privacy, and even when it falls back to ChatGPT, the company's deal with OpenAI means that privacy protections are still strong. Apple anonymizes all ChatGPT handoffs, so OpenAI's servers have no idea who has made a particular request, or who is getting the response. Apple's agreement with OpenAI also ensures that data from these sessions will not be used as training material for ChatGPT models. There are still potential privacy risks, but it seems pretty clear that once Apple Intelligence is fully live, it will be by far the safest way to use ChatGPT.

Can ChatGPT-4o Be Trusted With Your Private Data?

On May 13, OpenAI unveiled the latest iteration of its AI chatbot, ChatGPT-4o. The newest version is wildly capable and much more humanlike, with the ability to solve equations, tell bedtime stories, and identify emotions from facial expressions. OpenAI has made a big deal about wanting to make its tools available to everyone for free. But experts say ChatGPT-4o's turbocharged capabilities widen the amount of information that can be potentially swept up by OpenAI, heightening concerns about privacy. The firm has a spotty track record in the area. After it launched in 2020, a technical paper revealed how millions of pages scraped from Reddit posts, books, and the broader web were used to create the generative AI text system, including personal data you share about yourself online. This led to ChatGPT falling foul of data protection regulators in Italy, resulting in a temporary ban in the country last year. Not long after the launch of GPT-4o, an initial demo of the macOS desktop app indicated the chatbot was potentially able to access a user's screen. And in July, the same app came under fire again when it emerged that a worrying security issue made it easy to find chats stored on your computer and read them in plain text. OpenAI quickly issued an update that encrypts the chats, but with this level of scrutiny on the company and GPT-4o, it's easy to see why people are worried about privacy. How private is the newest iteration of OpenAI's chatbot? Is it worse than previous versions? And is there any way to lock it down? On the face of it, OpenAI's privacy policy does show a large amount of data collection, including personal information, usage data, and content provided when you use it. ChatGPT uses the data you share to train its models, unless you turn it off in the settings or use the enterprise version. OpenAI is quick to say in its privacy policy that individual data is "anonymized," but the approach on the whole seems to be "take everything now and sort it out later," says Angus Allan, senior product manager at digital consultancy CreateFuture, which advises firms on ways to use AI and data analytics. "Their privacy policy explicitly states they collect all user input and reserve the right to train their models on this." The catch-all "user content" clause likely covers images and voice data too, says Allan. "It's a data hoover on steroids, and it's all there in black and white. The policy hasn't changed significantly with ChatGPT-4o, but given its expanded capabilities, the scope of what constitutes 'user content' has broadened dramatically." OpenAI's privacy policies are clear that ChatGPT does not have access to any data on your device beyond what you explicitly input into the chat. However, by default, ChatGPT does collect lots of other data about you, says Jules Love, founder at Spark, a consultancy that advises companies on how to build AI tools including ChatGPT into their workflows while addressing data privacy. "It uses everything from prompts and responses to email addresses, phone numbers, geolocation data, network activity, and what device you're using."