Meta, Copilot Flunk AI Privacy 101 — Big Tech Is Playing Chicken With Your Privacy

The risk of unauthorized data collection and privacy breaches has surged as generative AI and large language models (LLMs) become embedded in everyday tools and services. Here's a look at some of the least invasive AI platforms, as well as the most aggressive data collectors. 

What To Know: According to a recent report from Incogni, Mistral AI's Le Chat emerged as the least invasive AI platform in terms of data privacy, limiting data collection and performing well across most criteria. 

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ChatGPT (OpenAI) ranked second, followed by Grok (xAI) with both generative AI platforms offering relatively clear privacy policies and the ability for users to opt out of having their data used in model training.

At the other end of the spectrum, Meta Platforms, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) Meta AI, Alphabet, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Gemini and Copilot from Microsoft, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were found to be the most aggressive in data collection and least transparent about their practices. 

DeepSeek also performed poorly, particularly regarding opt-out options and policy clarity.

Anthropic and Meta also disclose sharing with research collaborators, which could raise concerns about data control once prompts leave the platform. 

Mobile app data collection practices were also scrutinized. Le Chat, Pi AI and ChatGPT had the lowest privacy risk on mobile. Meta AI's mobile app was the most aggressive and collected usernames, emails and phone numbers. 

Gemini and Meta AI collect exact user locations, and Pi AI, Gemini, and DeepSeek collect phone numbers. Grok shares photos and app interaction data, while Anthropic's Claude shares app usage and email addresses.

User Beware: Overall, privacy risks vary widely between generative AI platforms. 

The best performers offered clear privacy policies, opt-out controls and minimal data collection, while the worst offenders lacked transparency and shared user data broadly without clear justification.

Users should research generative AI platform privacy policies and understand and use privacy controls in order to limit security risks and maintain control of personal data. 

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