How should sensitive information be handled with AI?
Avoid putting secrets, personal data, or confidential business information into AI tools unless you know how that data is stored and used. When in doubt, remove or anonymize sensitive details before sharing.
Sensible defaults
- Don't paste passwords, keys, or financial credentials into AI tools.
- Anonymize or remove personal and confidential data where possible.
- Understand a tool's data-handling and retention before sharing sensitive input.
- Follow your organization's policies on what may be shared.
Why caution pays
Once information is shared with a third-party tool, you may not control how it's stored or used. Treating sensitive data conservatively avoids hard-to-reverse exposure.
Sensitive-data mistakes with AI can be serious and hard to undo. A little caution up front prevents most of them.
Treat an AI tool like an outside contractor: helpful, but you don't hand over your passwords or your customers' private records without knowing the terms.
- Shared data may be retained or processed beyond your control.
- Pasting secrets or credentials creates direct exposure.
- Organizational and legal data rules still apply — educational only, not legal advice.
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Last reviewed 2026-06-25. This topic can change over time; always confirm current specifics from primary sources.