Brian Greenberg 
🤖 Most people still treat AI chatbots like a private confessional, but they aren’t. 😳 Every question is logged, stored, and potentially discoverable, sometimes even after you’ve deleted it. OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic all retain user prompts by default, often under the guise of “memory” or “service improvement.”
And here’s the kicker: a federal court order now forces OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT conversations, including “Temporary” ones users assumed were erased. So the notion of ephemeral chats is gone. That should change how people think about what they type into these systems.
The bigger issue is that the line between “helpful personalization” and “permanent surveillance record” is blurring fast. What looks convenient today could look like an exposure tomorrow.
TL;DR
⚠️ AI queries are logged
🔐 Deleted chats still saved
🧠 “Memory” is default setting
📂 Court orders enforce retention
https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/18/opinion_column_ai_surveillance/
#AI #Privacy #DataSecurity #Surveillance #FRCP #EDRM #security #privacy #cloud #infosec #cybersecurity #LegalHold
Richard Penner