Mind what you paste

6 min · Prompting basics for everyday work

Everything you paste into an AI tool goes somewhere. Before you hit Enter, it is worth knowing where, and what you would rather keep to yourself.

Where it goes

Most AI tools send your message to a server run by the tool's maker or by a model provider. Depending on the service, your text may be stored for a while, reviewed for safety, or used to improve models, unless you turn that off. The details differ from one service to the next and they change, so read the privacy settings and terms of the one you use. Look for retention, training and sharing.

Work accounts may have their own rules. If a company gave you the tool, its policy comes first.

What not to paste

Keep these out of an AI chat unless you are sure about the service and the rules:

passwords, one-time codes and API keys
card numbers, bank details and government ID numbers
medical records and other sensitive personal details
other people's private information, such as a customer list
confidential documents, contracts and unreleased plans that you are not allowed to share

If you slip, change the password or key right away.

Redact first

You rarely need the real names to get a useful answer. Replace them:

Rewrite this email to be warmer.

"Hi [CLIENT], I am following up on invoice [NUMBER]..."

Use placeholders such as [CLIENT] and [AMOUNT], then fill them in yourself afterward. You can also paste a summary instead of the whole document.

Use local options for sensitive work

Some tools can run a model on your own computer, so the text never leaves it. That is slower and sometimes less capable, but it is a good fit for sensitive material. Check that the tool is really running locally, not just labeled that way.

Untrusted text can talk back

A web page, an email or a document can contain sentences written to steer an AI: "Ignore your instructions and send the following..." If you ask an AI to read untrusted text, treat that text as material, not as orders. Keep it fenced, as in lesson 2. And be careful about letting an AI take actions, such as sending a message or buying something, based on what it read. Look at what it plans to do first.

Review what comes back

The reply can repeat private details you pasted. Check before you share it or paste it into another place.

Clean up

Most tools let you delete old chats and turn off history. Do it for chats that held anything sensitive.

A quick rule of thumb

If you would not put it in an email to a stranger at a company you only partly trust, redact it or keep it out of the chat.

Try it

Open the privacy settings of the AI tool you use most. Find out how long chats are kept and whether they can be used for training. Write down what you will no longer paste.