Private lives exposed by a simple click
The case, revealed by Fast Company magazine, is a real bomb for confidence in AI. Using the “Share” function of Chatgpt, many users were just thinking of sending a private link to a friend or a colleague.
The problem is that a small check box, probably misunderstood by many, made these conversations “discoverable” by search engines. Result: a simple search on Google (site:[lien suspect supprimé]) allowed read exchanges thousands of strangers. There is everything: complete CVs with names and addresses, corporate strategies, but also intimate confessions on addictions, abuses or mental health problems.
OPENAI rushes in emergency
At first, Openai tried to reject the fault On users, explaining that they had “explicitly chosen this option”. But faced with the scale of the scandal, the company quickly turned back.
In a press release, she announced the suppression totale Discovery functionality by search engines, calling it “experience” that has “introduced too many opportunities for people to accidentally share things they did not want”. OPENAI also clarified working to remove the links already indexed.
How to check if you are concerned?
If you have already shared conversations, it is advisable to check. In Chatgpt settings, go to “Data Management” then ” Links “shared. You will find the list of all the links you have created. You can then delete them by one.
Be careful however, even after deleting, the content can remain visible in the Google cache For a while.
What do we say?
This case is a case of a school of lightness with which Openai sometimes deals with the privacy of its users. Offer an option too dangerous and poorly explainedwhich can transform an intimate conversation into a public research result, is a clearly unforgivable fault.
All this also shows the difference in philosophy with Apple. It is hard to imagine a “sharing” function in notes which, by a single click, would make your thoughts public. Apple’s prudence and obsession for confidentiality, sometimes mocked, take on all their meaning here. Confidence is the most precious currency In the AI era, and Openai has just proved that they still have a lot to learn. And you, have you already shared a conversation with an AI by thinking that it would remain private?
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