OpenAI Disables ChatGPT Search Sharing Feature Amid Privacy Concerns

Highlights

OpenAI removes the ChatGPT chat-sharing feature from Google Search after reports of unintentional exposure of users’ personal information.

OpenAI has decided to permanently shut down a controversial feature that allowed users to make their ChatGPT conversations publicly searchable on platforms like Google. The move comes in response to growing concerns over privacy and the unintentional exposure of sensitive user information online.

This feature, rolled out earlier in the year, was designed with the intention of letting users voluntarily share useful ChatGPT conversations on the web. It was strictly optional—users had to select a specific chat and then check a box allowing it to be indexed by search engines. However, despite this two-step opt-in process, several users inadvertently ended up sharing highly personal information.

According to OpenAI’s Chief Information Security Officer, Dane Stuckey, the decision to discontinue the feature was made after realizing the potential for accidental oversharing far outweighed the benefits.

"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)," Stuckey shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Although the intention behind the feature was to help users discover valuable AI-generated content and insights, it resulted in unintended consequences. A report by Fast Company highlighted that over 4,500 ChatGPT chats had become visible through Google Search. While many of these were harmless, others contained sensitive details such as real names, locations, or emotionally intimate content users had disclosed to the chatbot in confidence.

Even after users deleted the shared chat or its link, those conversations could still be found through search engines until their indexes were updated—a delay that left private content exposed far longer than expected.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the issue in a recent podcast, noting the unique relationship users have with ChatGPT.

He said that people often treat the AI assistant like a confidante, discussing topics they might not share even with close friends.

This deep sense of trust, while validating for the platform, also made the chat-sharing feature inherently risky.

The company has now removed the sharing option altogether and is actively coordinating with search engines to eliminate previously indexed chats. The update is being seen as a necessary corrective step that prioritizes user trust and privacy.

The removal of the feature marks the end of what OpenAI has referred to as an "experiment" to make AI conversations discoverable on the web—a well-intentioned idea that couldn’t outweigh the privacy risks in the real world.