Sharing personal information with AI chatbots is risky. This can lead to data theft and fraud. Never share sensitive things like passwords, financial and personal information as these are not confidential.
Artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini are becoming a part of our everyday lives. People use them to write emails, get answers to questions, and even communicate. They respond like humans, which makes them seem trustworthy. But experts warn to be careful. Sharing too much information with AI can lead to serious risks like privacy leaks, data theft and misuse of your secret information. This is not a private conversation. Conversations with chatbots are not confidential. Anyone can store, analyze or leak them. Here are 10 things you should never share with an AI chatbot.
Password
Never share your login password with any chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok, or Gemini. Sharing passwords increases the risk of your banking, email or social media accounts being hacked. Cyber security experts recommend using a secure password manager instead.
financial information
Never share bank account numbers, credit card information, or government ID numbers like Aadhaar and PAN. Such data can be stored or misused, making you a victim of fraud and theft. Always use secure and official methods for financial information.
sensitive photos or documents
It is unsafe to upload ID, passport, driving license or your personal photos. Even after deletion, their digital traces may remain, making you a victim of hacking, theft or misuse. Keep such files not in AI chat, but in some secure storage.
confidential work data
It is dangerous to paste your company’s internal reports, strategies or business secrets into an AI system. These inputs can sometimes be used to train models, but are more prone to leakage. Sharing confidential work information can put the company’s security at risk.
legal matters
Chatbots are not a substitute for a lawyer. Sharing information about agreements, disputes or lawsuits can have adverse consequences. AI’s advice in this matter can often be incomplete or misleading.
health or medical information
Asking a chatbot about the symptoms or treatment of a disease may result in inaccurate information. Sharing and leaking of personal health information, such as prescriptions or medical records, can be dangerous. Always consult a licensed physician for medical advice.
personal information
Providing information like your full name, address, phone number, or email may seem innocuous at first glance. But mixing all these together can expose your identity. Due to this, you can become a victim of online fraud, phishing, hacking or digital arrest. Chatbots don’t guarantee your privacy, so it’s important to keep it private.
secrets or confessions
Even if you think it’s safe to talk to a chatbot in these cases, nothing you type into an AI is actually private. Private secrets can be logged or reused in unexpected ways. Unlike a close friend or therapist, AI does not guarantee confidentiality.
objectionable things
Sexual content, offensive content, or illegal content may be flagged or blocked, but traces of it may remain in system logs. Such activity may result in your account being suspended and there is also a risk of sensitive content being leaked.
Anything you don’t want to make public
The golden rule is to never share anything you wouldn’t want to post online with an AI. Even minor comments may get logged and resurface beyond your control. Always treat conversations with chatbots as if they could one day become public.