ChatGPT kills Google-indexable chats over privacy fears

OpenAI removed a ChatGPT feature that allowed users to make individual chats discoverable by search engines like Google — citing privacy risks.

• OpenAI called its Share feature a “short-lived experiment” that “introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn’t intend to.”

Zoom out. OpenAI’s Share feature was meant to help people “discover useful conversations.” It required users to opt in by choosing a specific chat and manually checking a box to make it indexable.

• The feature (found via Settings > Data Controls > Shared Links > Manage) rolled out quietly and didn’t appear to be widely promoted.
• The goal was to expand the reach of publicly shared knowledge generated in ChatGPT.
• However, OpenAI said the risk of accidental oversharing — including personal or sensitive data — outweighed the potential benefits.

Why we care. While indexed chats could help people find helpful prompts or responses, they also posed serious risks if users unknowingly exposed private information. OpenAI said it is working to remove any content that was indexed by search engines like Google.

What they’re saying. Here’s the full statement from OpenAI:

“We just removed a feature from @ChatGPTapp that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google. This was a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations. This feature required users to opt-in, first by picking a chat to share, then by clicking a checkbox for it to be shared with search engines (see below).

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. We’re also working to remove indexed content from the relevant search engines. This change is rolling out to all users through tomorrow morning.

Security and privacy are paramount for us, and we’ll keep working to maximally reflect that in our products and features.”