OpenAI quickly rolled back a new feature that allowed users to make private conversations with ChatGPT searchable
"We just removed a feature from @ChatGPTapp that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google," Dane Stuckey, OpenAI's chief information security officer, announced via social media post on Thursday.
He described the opt-in feature as "a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations," but added that the company removed it in part because of OpenAI's focus on "security and privacy."
"Ultimately we think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn't intend to, so we're removing the option," Stuckey's post said. "We're also working to remove indexed content from the relevant search engines. This change is rolling out to all users through tomorrow morning."
The rollback came shortly after newsletter writer Luiza Jarovsky posted on X earlier in the day that sensitive conversations with ChatGPT were being made public. When using the chatbot's sharing feature, Jarovsky wrote that users were opening up their exchanges to being indexed by Google.
The feature required users to take steps to share their conversations — including ticking a box to "make this chat discoverable," and indicated it would "be shown in web searches." Chats made public were anonymized, reducing the risk that someone may be personally identified by their conversations with the bot.
Still, users responding to Jarovsky's posts highlighted the concern that some people may absent-mindedly check the box to share without reading the fine print, opening themselves up to sharing embarrassing or private information.
In her initial X post, Jarovsky found examples of users discussing their fears with ChatGPT. Her comments were filled with more personal examples, from discussions of harassment to makeshift therapy sessions.
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