Thousands of publicly shared ChatGPT conversations, many containing personal and sensitive information, are showing up in Google search results, according to a new report.
A recent investigation by Fast Company has revealed that ChatGPT conversations shared using the app’s “Share” feature may be more public than users realize. The report found that thousands of these chats, including some containing personal, sensitive, or confidential information, are being indexed by search engines like Google.
When a user clicks the “Share” button in ChatGPT, it generates a public link that anyone can access. These links are typically used to share the chat with an individual person, or even to conventiently move the chat between devices for the same person. However, many users are unaware that these links can also be crawled by Google and appear in search results. A simple site search (site:chatgpt.com/share) revealed over 4,500 publicly indexed chats, with many discussing topics such as trauma, mental health, relationships, and work-related issues.
While OpenAI does not attach user names to the chats, there are still risks associated with this unexpected exposure. If a user has included identifying information like names, locations, emails, or work details in their conversation, they could be revealing more than they intended. Companies using ChatGPT for marketing, product copy, or internal brainstorming may also inadvertently leak strategies or proprietary language.
Even if a link is deleted or a user no longer wants it to be public, it might still be visible through cached pages or until Google updates its index. This means that if a user’s name or company is tied to shared content, others could find it even after deletion, potentially leading to reputation damage.
To protect their conversations, users are advised to avoid sharing sensitive information in any conversation that could be made public. The “Share” feature should only be used when necessary, and users should double-check the contents of the conversation before sharing.
Auditing old links by searching “site:chatgpt.com/share [your name or topic]” can help identify what’s visible.
Public links can be deleted from ChatGPT’s Shared Links dashboard, although this may not immediately remove them from Google’s index. As an alternative, users can share AI-generated answers using screenshots or by pasting text, rather than using a public link.
Read more at Fast Company here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
