Even after you delete your account, OpenAI may retain and continue to use data derived from your interactions — particularly data already incorporated into AI model training — meaning full erasure of your contributions to OpenAI's models may not be technically feasible.
OpenAI's Terms of Use affect consumers primarily through the default permission for OpenAI to use conversation data — including prompts and AI outputs — to improve its AI models, which means sensitive or personal information shared with ChatGPT may be retained and analyzed beyond the immediate session. Minors under 13 are prohibited from using the services, and those aged 13–17 require verifiable parental consent, but the adequacy of age verification mechanisms is not detailed in the terms themselves. You can opt out of having your conversations used for model training by navigating to your ChatGPT account settings and disabling the 'Improve the model for everyone' toggle.