Is ChatGPT private or is it storing everything I type? genuinely concerned
been wondering if chatgpt is actually private because i've been using it for everything lately and some of it is pretty personal like my mental health stuff. i'm in the US (michigan) and started using it on my iphone through the app and on my laptop through the browser.
the thing that made me start questioning this is i asked chatgpt something about a medical condition a few weeks ago and then the next day i got a targeted ad on instagram for that exact condition. could be coincidence but the timing was suspicious enough to freak me out. i know openai says they don't sell data but the ad targeting felt too specific to ignore.
i tried using it in incognito mode thinking that would help but realized that's only browser-side privacy. openai still sees everything you type regardless of your browser settings. so incognito does basically nothing here.
i also tried the api route because i heard that's more private. set it up on my laptop and technically api usage isn't used for training by default. but it still gets logged on their servers and the setup is way too technical for a normal person just trying to have a private conversation.
has anyone found a way to use chatgpt that's actually private? and for people who turned off the training toggle, have you noticed any difference in how it works? i just want to feel more private because things that i am chatting about are really sensitive for me.