OpenAI updated its privacy policy on June 12, 2026 to restructure how it describes data use and advertising practices. The policy removed language stating that OpenAI receives information from advertisers and data partners for measuring ad effectiveness on Free and Go users, while adding new regional guidance for South Korean users. The policy also added explicit language authorizing OpenAI to identify contacts who use its services and to monitor content for fraud prevention, previously buried in separate documentation. Separately, the policy removed a specific mechanism allowing Free and Go users to control personalized ad data through account settings.
The updated policy removes language describing how OpenAI uses advertiser and data partner information to personalize ads and measure ad effectiveness. The policy also removes the specific mechanism Free and Go users previously had to control ad personalization through account settings. In exchange, the policy adds explicit authorization for OpenAI to identify which of a user's contacts use OpenAI services and to monitor all content submitted on the platform for fraud and misuse detection. The authorization to monitor content and identify contacts now appears in the main policy purposes section rather than in supplementary documentation. You can review the Korea Addendum if you are located in South Korea to understand region-specific privacy rules.
The updated terms remove specific disclosures of advertiser data sourcing and user controls over ad personalization, which may reduce transparency about how Free and Go users' data is used in advertising contexts. Simultaneously, the policy adds explicit authorization for contact identification and universal content monitoring, centralizing these practices in the main policy purposes section. Together, these changes shift the balance between disclosed advertiser practices and explicit data-processing authorities, with potential implications for how users understand data flows and what controls remain available to them.
→ Review your account settings to check what privacy and data controls are currently available for your account type.
→ Consult the Korea Addendum if you are located in South Korea to understand region-specific privacy rules.
→ The updated terms authorizing contact identification will apply as written; OpenAI will scan your contacts and may identify which of your contacts use its services without per-action consent.
→ The updated terms authorizing content monitoring will apply; all content you submit on OpenAI platforms may be monitored for fraud and prohibited uses as stated in the policy.
→ The removed ad personalization control mechanism is no longer documented in the policy; Free and Go users will no longer have access to the previously described account-level controls.
This is the 5th significant Advertising Use Expansion change OpenAI has made since ConductAtlas began monitoring.
ConductAtlas has recorded 11 material changes to this document over 94 days of monitoring (since March 2026). An additional minor or cosmetic changes were excluded.
Across all monitored documents, OpenAI has made 14 significant changes.
8 of OpenAI's significant changes have been classified as negative for consumers.
Language stating OpenAI receives advertiser and data partner information for ad measurement was removed.
Language describing account-level controls for ad data personalization was removed.
Added explicit authority to scan contacts and identify which contacts use OpenAI services.
This change record describes what was added, removed, or modified in the document. Analysis reflects what the updated agreement states or permits. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology
OpenAI states it will now scan your contact list to identify which of your contacts are OpenAI users and will notify you when they join.
OpenAI states it monitors all messages and content you submit to its platforms to detect fraud and prohibited uses.
The policy no longer explicitly describes how advertiser and partner data flows into OpenAI's systems or how that data is used.
Free and Go users can no longer access a documented mechanism in account settings to control what data OpenAI uses to personalize ads.
OpenAI restructured its privacy disclosures on June 12, 2026 by removing advertiser data partnership language, consolidating previously scattered data-use purposes into the main policy, and adding explicit content monitoring authority. The removal of advertiser partnership disclosures and ad personalization controls may affect compliance representations in data processing agreements, regional privacy notices, and vendor due diligence frameworks, particularly in jurisdictions requiring transparency about third-party data sources and user choice mechanisms. The addition of explicit contact identification and content monitoring authority may trigger updates to DPA schedules and privacy notices if those practices were previously implied rather than directly disclosed. Organizations using OpenAI's services should evaluate whether their own privacy notices, DPAs, or disclosures to end users referenced OpenAI's previous ad personalization controls or advertiser data partnerships, and whether the removal of those specific mechanisms requires corresponding updates to downstream transparency or consent frameworks.
ConductAtlas provides verified policy intelligence sourced directly from platform documents. All analysis is intended to support, not replace, legal and compliance review. Record CA-C-002901.
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Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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