OpenAI · Privacy Policy (ROW)

Data Retention Policy

Medium severity
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What it is

We retain your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, maintain your account, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. The specific retention period depends on the nature of the data and the purposes for which it is processed.

Why it matters

Vague retention terms mean OpenAI could retain your conversation history and personal data indefinitely, with no clear deadline for deletion.

Consumer impact

OpenAI collects extensive personal data including conversation content, audio and image inputs, device identifiers, location data, and usage logs across all its services, and may use this data to train AI models unless users opt out. This creates a meaningful privacy risk because sensitive information shared in conversations β€” health queries, financial details, personal communications β€” could indirectly influence model outputs. You can opt out of conversation data being used for AI training by navigating to Settings > Data Controls in your ChatGPT account and disabling 'Improve the model for everyone'.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Delete Your Data
    Submit a formal data deletion request at privacy.openai.com to request that OpenAI delete your personal data and specify which categories of data you want removed.

Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC can investigate companies that retain data longer than disclosed or necessary under its unfair or deceptive practices authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Privacy Policy (ROW)
Entity
OpenAI
Document last updated
March 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 10, 2026
Last verified
April 4, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-000046
Document ID
CA-D-00006
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
f3c083059dff1a3f26f2ce10f0072ca60f38c6921517ae6dd07e528e4bfc7ce2
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: OpenAI | Document: Privacy Policy (ROW) | Record: CA-P-000046
Captured: 2026-03-10 03:38:17 UTC | SHA-256: f3c083059dff1a3f…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/openai/privacy-policy-row/data-retention-policy/
Accessed: April 4, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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