Is ChatGPT Safe? Key Facts You Need to Know

ChatGPT, the acronym for  Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, has significantly simplified and shortened my daily tasks. It assists me with everything from calculating my monthly bills to providing tips for my diet plan.

Now, questions arise in my mind: is chatGpt safe? How Harmful is ChatGPT? How do they collect data? What do they do with it?

This blog post will mainly discuss whether is Chat gpt safe to use and how to use it safely. We will also discuss how ChatGpt collects data and what it does with it.

Is It Safe to Use ChatGPT

Yes! ChatGPT is safe to use when employed responsibly and carefully. However, it’s not the first AI-based tool to be introduced into our lives. The key difference between traditional AI and ChatGPT is that ChatGPT learns and develops from human interaction. As a result, it may sometimes provide misinformation, such as biased or time-specific information in a few cases. These potential challenges raise a few concerts for the user. Now, let’s explore the security concerns related to how safe is chat gpt 

Potential Risks of Using ChatGPT

1. Risk of Wrong Information

 ChatGPT mainly focuses on human-like text rather than ensuring the accuracy of the information. The reason is, initially ChatGPT was trained with vast amounts of data like pages, articles and blogs etc. Hence. It presents wrong information confidently even though it’s logically incorrect or misleading. 

ChatGPT’s understanding is generally frozen at a specific point in time. In rapidly changing fields such as current affairs, medicine, or technology, ChatGPT is safe to use but may provide outdated or inaccurate information. 

For example, ChatGPT 3.5’s last update on knowledge is around 2021. This means ChatGPT 3.5 cannot access or provide information that happened later.

2. Risk of Data 

Every interaction with ChatGPT involves data sharing. ChatGPT collects the data in the form of conversation and improves the model. In some cases, ChatGPT can accidentally leak sensitive information or generate responses that contain the user's details.

The platform requires a name, email address, phone number, and password to sign up as a free user. If you're using a paid version, OpenAI will store your payment details, such as your card and bank account numbers. The unintentional and unauthorized release of data raises concerns about confidentiality and privacy. 

Since ChatGPT can also store older conversations, I often wonder is ChatGPT safe to use 

For example, I used ChatGPT to plan my exercise routine. To provide accurate information, I shared a few of my health-related concerns, and when anybody could access my health-related data, I felt uncomfortable and risky.

3. Risk of Misusing 

ChatGPT has raised concerns about human proficiency. It can automate many tasks in seconds, potentially displacing humans in various situations.

Students use ChatGPT to solve complex problems and generate essays and other assignments, allowing them to cheat in practical assignments and significantly threatening academic integrity.

When I  started over-relying on ChatGPT for a minute of the task, I asked myself how safe is ChatGPT.

Individual tasks foster creativity and skill development, but Open AI has been a barrier to this, sonally 

ChatGPT can generate code on various topics, including a detailed manual on how to hack anyone’s computer or phone. It can also create text in many different styles, including phishing or scam emails, leading many people to question whether ChatGPT is safe to use.

4. Risk of Fake ChatGPT Apps

Initially, ChatGPT was only available on desktops and iPhones. Later, at the end of July 2023, ChatGPT introduced an Android version. The popularity of ChatGPT on the Internet led to a rise of fake apps or websites. These imposters eventually tried to trick users into downloading malicious software or making people pay for the service Open AI provides for free.

If you're still wondering,  “is it safe to use chat gpt?” I would still say “ Yes,” but be aware of the source you're downloading from. Download only the official ChatGPT app from the most reliable apps, like Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

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Is ChatGpt Safe: Best Practices to Follow

How safe is ChatGPT? Or is it safe to use chat gpt? These are the questions in your mind, I heard you! 

Let’s explore a few tips and safety measures for using Open AI carefully and responsibly.

1. Verifying Responses

Since ChatGPT is trained with a large set of data, the responses might be factually inaccurate. Hence, always verify the responses and prompts to ensure the subjects are factually, logically, and grammatically related. 

Experts generally recommend that you stop relying on time-specific information or on subjects that are constantly changing.

2. Avoid Sharing Sensitive Data 

Ensure that your prompts are limited to interactions. Since ChatGPT is an Open AI, interactions are not private. The model develops responses based on the data or information you share; hence, avoid subjects like personal, financial, and other misleading information.

Do not express your personal emotions in the prompts. Be very choosy about the information or words you use, primarily if they identify your subjects.

3. Stick to Official Platforms 

To ensure ChatGPT is safe , stick on to official platforms.

This is the most essential safety tip to ensure while using ChatGPT is accessing the platform through its official website. Watch out for the fake apps that question your data privacy or make you pay for the free services.

Third-party or Cybercriminals create fake apps to trick users into installing malware on their devices. These fake platforms steal personal data and expose it to unauthorized third parties. 

Here are a few steps to identify the official platforms —

• Check the extension before entering any personal information or credentials 

• Always use ChatGPT.com to access ChatGPT 

• Download from verified app stores like Google Play store or Apple App Store

• Avoid clicking on advertisements or links that promote free versions apart from the original website  

You can have a safe and seamless experience by ensuring these safety instructions while downloading.

4. Secure your account with a strong password.

Your password protects your account information and Chat history.

Use these tips to set a strong password:

• Have it above eight characters

• Use the combination of letters, numbers, and special characters

• To remember and safeguard your password, use a Google password manager or the default password manager of your phone.

5. Report issues

Always remember that ChatGPT is a Chatbot, not a human. Avoid providing excessive information or expressing personal experiences or emotions in your responses.

If you encounter any responses that are offensive, harmful, or inappropriate, please click on the report issue to raise your concerns.

Since open AI learns from human communication, feedback always helps AI improve responses.

Read More: Benefits of Automation Testing for Software Development

How ChatGPT collects and Utilizes my Data

To answer this question, we must analyze what type of data ChatGPT collects. The data it receives is no different from that of any software-as-service (SaaS) Application.

What Type of Data Does ChatGPT Collect?

Depending on the type of data you can understand How safe is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT collects various types of data to improve its performance. This data follows:

• The Device Data: ChatGPT collects information about your device, such as its name and operating system. This data helps ChatGPT increase its performance across various devices.

• The Usage Data: The usage data collected tracks your location , interactions and time. It enables OpenAI to monitor service usage patterns for analysis and optimization.

• The Server Data : This data contains the data of your server such as server type, IP address and other information related to your browsing session. It also helps the user understand technical issues and improve the platform’s reliability.

• Conversations: Every conversation, including prompts and responses, is stored. ChatGPT can access the data in the files, sheets and word documents

How do ChatGPT utilize the data?

The data stored from every conversation serves multiple purposes, mainly focusing on improving the quality of responses and providing the user a seamless experience.

The data collected from every user serves multiple purposes, primarily improving the quality of responses and the user experience.

ChatGPT utilizes data for :

• The innovation and seamless experience to the user, allowing the system to understand the user's natural language.Through continuous testing and usage, ChatGPT’s ability to handle complex prompts increases.

• Constant research on the same topic enables OpenAI to explore data and fuel its performance. This exploration also helps ChatGPT identify patterns, nuances, and gaps in the data. 

• At specific points, ChatGPT also gains an understanding of linguistic, cultural, and religious differences.

• Data is collected from the user to enhance ChatGPT’s ability to respond accurately, fluently, and relatively.

• The interaction of data helps OpenAI to identify biases and errors by comparison.

Related Blog: 7 Best Ways to Use AI in Automation Testing

Bottom Line

ChatGPT has made my life and yours easier by providing valuable assistance with every task. But Is ChatGpt Safe It depends on the usage.However, we must each use it responsibly and carefully.

If you’re exploring ChatGPT for professional growth, you can consider courses like Artificial Intelligence to excel further. Avoid sharing personal information and verify every one piece of information before taking it as knowledge.