How to stop the AI you're using from training with your data - The Ultimate Guide
There’s plenty to consider when it comes to deciding whether you want to engage with the many generative AI bots now available inside our apps. These include the ethics of copyright use, soaring energy demands, and the diminishing of human creativity, to begin with.
Disabling AI Training
Something else to bear in mind when engaging with these tools is they’re often going to use your flesh-and-blood human inputs to further train their underlying models.
While some AI companies make efforts to anonymize this data, it’s something you may not feel comfortable with. 
The good news is, in most cases, you can find a setting to turn the training off. Disabling AI training isn’t quite the same as wiping your AI chatbot history, though they are linked.
Your chats can still be used for training purposes before they’re wiped, and you may well want to keep your chat history in place — but at the same time stop AI companies from using your data for model refinement.
Instructions to Turn Off AI Training on Various Apps
- App 1: Click your profile picture (top right), then choose Settings > Data control and turn it off using the Improve the model for everyone toggle switch.
- App 2: Tap the menu button (top left), then the three dots next to your account name to find the Data controls screen and the Improve the model for everyone toggle switch.
- App 3: Click your account picture (top right), then click your name and Privacy. You get two toggle switches you can turn off: Model training on text and Model training on voice.
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Of all the apps and services listed so far, Meta is the most obtuse when it comes to letting users know how their data is used for AI training and giving users options for turning it off. You can read the data policy here.
In Europe and the UK, you can object to this collection of data by submitting this well-hidden form. In the US, however, all you have is an alternative form “to submit requests related to your personal information from third parties being used to develop and improve AI at Meta.”
Conclusion
For other AI-using apps that you use, it’s worth digging into the settings and privacy policies to see exactly how your data is being processed. Policies can differ widely.
Even on apps and services that don’t use your data for AI training, if your content is being made public or being accessed by third-party developers, then it may get scooped up by AI bots anyway. As always, be careful what you post and share.
