Date: 4 Aug 2025
Privacy Commissioner’s Office Offers 10 Tips to Users
to Ensure Safe Use of AI Chatbots
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) noted recent reports that a large-scale generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform shared the chat history between its users and AI chatbot externally, with such history made available for searching through online search engines.
With the increasing popularity of AI chatbots, the PCPD reminds users of the importance of safeguarding their personal data privacy when using new technologies. Users should be aware that, depending on the settings, the chat history between users and AI chatbots may be stored and used for training AI model, which is exposed to the risk of leakage of personal data.
In view of this, the PCPD offers the following 10 tips to help users use AI chatbots safely in order to protect their personal data privacy:
(a) Before registration/use
Tip 1:
Read the Privacy Policy, the Terms of Use and other relevant data handling policies of AI chatbots to understand how personal data would be collected, stored, used and shared
Tip 2:
Beware of fake Apps and phishing websites posing as known AI chatbots
Tip 3:
Adjust the settings to opt-out of sharing chat history (if applicable) to avoid conversations being saved and used for AI model training and to reduce the risk of data leakage
(b) When interacting with AI chatbots
Tip 4:
Refrain from sharing your own personal data and others’ personal data.
Tip 5:
If necessary, submit a correction or removal request to correct or remove any inaccurate personal data
Tip 6:
Guard against cybersecurity threats
Tip 7:
Delete outdated conversations from chat history. Delete unused AI chatbots accounts to reduce the risk of data leakage
(c) Safe and Responsible Use of AI Chatbots
Tip 8:
Be cautious about using the information provided by AI chatbots. Beware of inaccurate, infringing copyright, biased or discriminatory information.
Tip 9:
Refrain from sharing confidential information and files
Tip 10:
Teachers/parents should provide guidance to students when they are interacting with AI chatbots
The PCPD published a leaflet entitled “10 TIPS for Users of AI Chatbots” earlier, please click
here to download the leaflet for details of the tips.