Is ChatGPT safe for business data?
ChatGPT Business and Enterprise do not train on your data by default; on Free, Plus, and Pro, OpenAI may use your chats to train its models unless you turn that off.
Training, plan by plan
- Used for training: Free, Plus, and Pro: used, unless you turn it off.
- Not used for training: ChatGPT Business: not used by default.
- Not used for training: ChatGPT Enterprise: not used by default, unless your organization opts in.
What it does with your data
| Question | Free, Plus, and Pro | ChatGPT Business | ChatGPT Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trains on your data by default? | Yes, unless you turn it off. OpenAI says it may use your content to train its models. Turn off “Improve the model for everyone” under Settings > Data controls. If you give a thumbs up or down, the whole chat may be used for training even after you opt out. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com | No, not by default. OpenAI says it does not use inputs or outputs from ChatGPT Business to improve its models, and a thumbs up or down does not change that. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com | No, not by default, unless your organization opts in to share data. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com |
| How long chats are kept | Saved chats stay until you delete them. Deleted chats are scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days, unless OpenAI must keep them longer for security or legal reasons. Temporary chats may be kept for up to 30 days for safety. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com | Workspace admins can control how long data is kept. Deleted or unsaved conversations are removed within 30 days, unless the law or protecting the service requires longer. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com | Workspace admins control how long data is kept. Deleted conversations are removed within 30 days, unless OpenAI is legally required to keep them. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com |
| Who can read them | OpenAI’s policy does not describe company access to a personal account. It says that if you sign up with a work email, OpenAI may share that you have an account, and your email address, with your employer. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com | Each person sees their own conversations. Workspace admins can view, access, export, and delete members’ conversations. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com | Each person sees their own conversations. Workspace admins can access an audit log of conversations through the Enterprise Compliance API. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com |
| Where data is stored | On servers in the United States and in other countries where OpenAI’s affiliates, partners, or vendors are located. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com | Not stated for this plan on the page we read. OpenAI lists data residency choices for eligible Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare, and API customers, not Business. Not confirmed · page checked: openai.com, October 23, 2026 | Eligible Enterprise customers can store content at rest in the U.S., Europe, UK, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, India, or the UAE. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: openai.com |
| How to delete | In your chat history, open the ••• menu on a chat and select Delete. To clear everything, open Settings > Data controls > Delete all chats. Deleted chats cannot be restored. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com | Members delete chats from the ••• menu or Settings > Data controls. Admins can also delete members’ conversations. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com | Members delete chats from the ••• menu or Settings > Data controls. Deleted conversations are removed within 30 days, unless OpenAI is legally required to keep them. Read on October 23, 2026 · source: help.openai.com |
How to turn training off
- On a personal plan, open Settings > Data controls and turn off “Improve the model for everyone.” Source: help.openai.com
- Use Temporary Chat when a chat should not be saved to history or used to improve models. Source: help.openai.com
- For a team, use ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, where OpenAI says it does not train on your business data by default. Source: openai.com
Safer setup for a small team
Use ChatGPT Business or Enterprise for work. On a personal plan, turn off “Improve the model for everyone” and use Temporary Chat for anything sensitive.
Plan to approve: ChatGPT Business or Enterprise
Setting to check: “Improve the model for everyone” (personal plans)
A line for your AI policy: Staff may use ChatGPT for work only through our company ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspace. Customer data never goes into a personal ChatGPT account.
Want this in your team’s AI policy? The SafeStart kit, a plain-English AI policy and training for small teams, is coming soon.
Questions about your own setup? Write to hello@terrapilgrim.org.
What changed
No changes recorded since we first published this page on October 23, 2026. Every change goes in the change log.
Sources (6)
- help.openai.com/en/articles/5722486-how-your-data-is-used-to-improve-mod… · read on October 23, 2026
“When you use our services for individuals (Free, Plus, Pro), we may use your content to train our models.”
- help.openai.com/en/articles/8983778-chat-and-file-retention-policies-in-… · read on October 23, 2026
“OpenAI schedules it for permanent deletion from its systems within 30 days”
- openai.com/policies/us-privacy-policy/ · read on October 23, 2026
“if you create an account using an email address belonging to your employer or another organization, we may share the fact that you have an account and certain account information, such as your email address, with your employer”
- help.openai.com/en/articles/8809935-how-to-delete-and-archive-chats-in-c… · read on October 23, 2026
“Select Archive all chats or Delete all chats.”
- openai.com/enterprise-privacy/ · read on October 23, 2026
“Your workspace admins can control how long your data is retained. Any deleted or unsaved conversations are removed from our systems within 30 days”
- openai.com/business-data/ · read on October 23, 2026
“Eligible ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, ChatGPT for Healthcare, and API platform customers can store sensitive customer content at rest in the U.S., Europe, UK, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, India, and the UAE”
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