ChatGPT Conversations Unexpectedly Indexed by Google, Raising Privacy Concerns

Your public ChatGPT queries are getting indexed by Google and other search engines | TechCrunch

It's a strange glimpse into the human mind: if you filter search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines to only include URLs from the domain "https://chatgpt.com/share," you can find strangers' conversations with ChatGPT. Sometimes, these shared conversation links are pretty dull -- people ask for help renovating their bathroom, understanding astrophysics, and finding recipe ideas. In another case, one user asks ChatGPT to rewrite their resume for a particular job application (judging by this person's LinkedIn, which was easy to find based on the details in the chat log, they did not get the job). Someone else is asking questions that sound like they came out of an incel forum. Another person asks the snarky, hostile AI assistant if they can microwave a metal fork (for the record: no), but they continue to ask the AI increasingly absurd and trollish questions, eventually leading it to create a guide called "How to Use a Microwave Without Summoning Satan: A Beginner's Guide." ChatGPT does not make these conversations public by default. A conversation would be appended with a "/share" URL only if the user deliberately clicks the "share" button on their own chat and then clicks a second "create link" button. The service also declares that "your name, custom instructions, and any messages you add after sharing stay private." However, users probably do not anticipate that Google will index their shared ChatGPT links, potentially betraying personal information (my apologies to the person whose LinkedIn I discovered). Though unintentional, this is a norm that was established in part by Google. When people share public links to files from Google Drive, such as documents with the "Anyone with link can view" setting, Google may index them in Search. However, Google generally does not surface links to Drive documents that have not been publicly posted on the web -- for example, a document may appear in search if it is linked on a trusted website. But this doesn't seem to be the case for these ChatGPT logs. OpenAI did not provide comment before publication. "Neither Google nor any other search engine controls what pages are made public on the web," a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Publishers of these pages have full control over whether they are indexed by search engines."

Be Careful What You Tell ChatGPT: Your Chats Could Show Up on Google Search

Many chatbot users seem to be unintentionally making their private ChatGPT conversations publicly available in search results on sites like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. You can view a trove of others' conversations by adding site:chatgpt.com/share to your search queries. When we perused the results, one person asked for help with a passive-aggressive partner. A recently discharged veteran said they were "lonely, stressed, and struggling," and asked about local support groups. Another person asked ChatGPT to confirm a conspiracy theory that Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is "the deep state" with "secret tunnels" and "giant generators." As Fast Company first reported, there are seemingly endless pages of personal, private chats, all of which have one thing in common. People "shared" them by pressing a button in ChatGPT that created a link to that specific conversation. This feature, which rolled out in May 2023, was pitched as a "new way for users to share their ChatGPT conversations, replacing the old and burdensome method of sharing screenshots." Those with shared links can also continue the conversation. Shared links do not include the person's name or account details. But if someone includes a specific phrase or name in the chat, it may be easily identifiable and searchable. According to OpenAI's Shared Links FAQ, conversations will not appear in public search results unless you "manually enable the link to be indexed by search engines when sharing." The pop-up has a small checkbox that says, "Make this chat discoverable," which people may think is required. In smaller print below the box, it reads, "Allows it to be shown in web searches." A Google spokesperson says OpenAI is responsible for publishing the results to search engines, and search engines are not initiating this behavior. If you're worried about links you've shared on ChatGPT becoming public, you can edit or delete them. If you delete your ChatGPT account, your shared links also go down with it. Of course, some people might not care if their conversations are searchable. Maybe they're using a throwaway account or looking to engage with other like-minded web users. However, if you want to keep your chats between you, ChatGPT, and a close inner circle, be careful how you share. "People talk about the most personal shit in their lives to ChatGPT," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview last week, TechCrunch reports. "People use it -- young people, especially, use it -- as a therapist, a life coach; having these relationship problems and [asking] 'what should I do?'" The company is also legally required to retain and share your personal chats in the event of a lawsuit. In other words, they can and will be used against you in court. 'A Massive SEO Goldmine' One Redditor calls search engines' indexing of ChatGPT conversations a "goldmine" for businesses, specifically people who work in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and are trying to understand the type of content their audience wants to read online. "These conversations reveal exactly what your audience struggles with," they write. "The questions they're too embarrassed to ask publicly. Think about it: We've spent years trying to understand search intent through keyword research and user interviews. Now we can literally see the conversations people are having with AI about our industry." Meta's AI ran into a similar issue in June, when people were shocked to find out that sharing conversations meant they would show up in others' feeds. In response, Meta updated its AI app to show a warning prompt before sharing any chats to the public Discover feed. Meanwhile, after Google renamed Bard to Gemini in February 2024, people realized Gemini chats were appearing in Google search results using the site:gemini.google.com/share parameter, Search Engine Journal reports. That query no longer returns any results. The connection between Google and ChatGPT may also run deeper than surfacing shared links. Others have noticed that ChatGPT's answers may pull directly from Google search results, and sometimes appear exactly the same as Google's AI overview. "Well, we all knew ChatGPT is also a wrapper for Wikipedia and Google search," one Redditor writes.

ChatGPT chats are showing up in Google Search -- how to find and delete yours

If you've ever shared a ChatGPT conversation using the app's "Share" feature, you may have unknowingly made it searchable on Google. A new report from Fast Company reveals that thousands of publicly shared ChatGPT conversations are being indexed by search engines, and some contain personal, sensitive, or even confidential information. When you click "Share" inside ChatGPT, it creates a public link that anyone can access. But what many users don't realize is that those links can also be crawled by Google and show up in search results. In fact, a simple site search (site:chatgpt.com/share) revealed over 4,500 publicly indexed chats; many include conversations about trauma, mental health, relationships, work issues and more. Even if a link is deleted or you no longer want it public, it might still be visible through cached pages or until Google updates its index. Before you panic, the good news is, OpenAI doesn't attach your name to the chat. However, if you've included identifying information (like names, locations, emails or work details) you could be exposing more than you realize. This is a wake up call for big tech and part of a broader shift in how we think about AI and privacy. As we rely more on AI for writing, research and brainstorming, we need to treat these conversations like we would emails or documents stored in the cloud: with caution. Even if the tools feel private, they're often not. And as this story shows, the internet doesn't forget, even when you try to delete.

Exclusive: Google could be reading your ChatGPT conversations. Concerned? You should be

Google is indexing conversations with ChatGPT that users have sent to friends, families, or colleagues -- turning private exchanges intended for small groups into search results visible to millions. A basic Google site search using part of the link created when someone proactively clicks "Share" on ChatGPT can uncover conversations where people reveal deeply personal details, including struggles with addiction, experiences of physical abuse, or serious mental health issues -- sometimes even fears that AI models are spying on them. While the users' identities aren't shown by ChatGPT, some potentially identify themselves by sharing highly specific personal information during the chats. A user might click "Share" to send their conversation to a close friend over WhatsApp or to save the URL for future reference. It's unlikely they would expect that doing so could make it appear in Google search results, accessible to anyone. It's unclear whether those affected realize their conversations with the bot are now publicly accessible after they click the Share button, presumably thinking they're doing so to a small audience. Nearly 4,500 conversations come up in results for the Google site search, though many don't include personal details or identifying information. This is likely not the full count, as Google may not index all conversations. (Because of the personal nature of the conversations, some of which divulge highly personal information including users' names, locations, and personal circumstances, Fast Company is choosing not to link to, or describe in significant detail, the conversations with the chatbot.)

ChatGPT conversations are showing up in Google Search

According to an exclusive Fast Company article, Google is indexing shared conversations from ChatGPT, potentially exposing private exchanges to a wider audience. This development raises concerns about the privacy of users who share their chats with others, assuming a limited scope of visibility. By using a specific Google site search that includes a portion of the link generated when a user clicks the "Share" button within ChatGPT, it is possible to uncover conversations containing sensitive personal information. These details include accounts of addiction struggles, experiences with physical abuse, discussions of mental health issues, and even concerns about AI surveillance. The conversations are accessible even though ChatGPT does not explicitly display user identities. However, some users may inadvertently reveal identifying information by sharing specific personal details during their interactions with the chatbot. The "Share" function is typically used when sending a conversation to a friend via platforms like WhatsApp or saving the URL for personal reference. The expectation is that this action maintains a limited audience. Many users are likely unaware that sharing their conversations in this way can result in their appearance in Google search results, making them accessible to a much broader audience. The extent to which affected users understand their conversations are now publicly accessible remains unclear. A Google site search reveals nearly 4,500 conversations. While not all of these contain sensitive or identifying information, the figure may not represent the total number of indexed conversations, as Google may not have indexed all shared chats. Due to the personal and sensitive nature of these conversations, Fast Company has chosen not to provide links or detailed descriptions of the exposed chats.

Think your ChatGPT chats are private? Google disagrees - Phandroid

Think your ChatGPT chats are private? They're not, especially if you've ever used the Share button. The moment you share a conversation using that link, it becomes public. And because OpenAI doesn't block those links from being indexed, Google can include them in search results. Try searching site:chatgpt.com/share followed by a topic, and you'll see random user chats pop up. The issue isn't that OpenAI is leaking data behind your back. The problem is that people assume shared links are private by default. But unless a site tells Google not to crawl those pages, they're fair game. So even if you only sent that link to a friend, it's now part of the searchable web. Another thing worth noting: the link shows a snapshot, not a live feed. This means any edits or new messages won't appear in the public version. And if someone stumbles on it, they'll see everything that was there at the time you shared it. It's a bit ironic. For years, AI companies were called out for scraping websites. Now those same AI tools are being indexed and scraped in return, except this time, it's the users getting exposed. So if you care about keeping your ChatGPT chats private, don't use the Share feature. Just copy and paste the parts you need, or take a screenshot. Once you send that link out, you're giving up control. And the internet doesn't forget. You can also find out how to delete your ChatGPT chats in our guide here.

ChatGPT Users May Be Inadvertently Sharing Conversations in Search Results | PYMNTS.com

The publication found that more than 4,500 conversations showed up in these search results. Many of these conversations were personal, and some included information like users' names and locations, if users included it in the chat, according to the report. An OpenAI spokesperson said in the report: "ChatGPT conversations are private unless you choose to share them. Creating a link to share your chat also includes an option to make it visible in web searches. Shared chats are only visible in Google search if users explicitly select this option." A ChatGPT FAQ page about shared links said this feature allows users to share the conversation with friends, colleagues and collaborators; to make it available to be indexed by search engines; or to share it to popular social networks. The page added that "shared links are not enabled to show up in public search results on the internet by default. You can manually enable the link to be indexed by search engines when sharing." OpenAI said in a June blog post that lawsuits may weaken its privacy protections. Reached by PYMNTS, Google said in an email that its search engine, and others, index pages that are on the open web, including the content mentioned in Thursday's Fast Company article. Google offers tools that site owners can use to tell its search engine not to include pages in its search results. In another, separate case, the BBC reported in June that some users of Meta AI may have been inadvertently posting their chats on a public feed. Meta said chats are private by default, and a pop-up message cautions users when they share a post that the chat will be "public and visible to everyone," but the nature of some chats that were made public suggests that users may not have understood this, the BBC report said.