ChatGPT users may have unintentionally shared their private conversations with millions of others, as Google and other search engines were recently found indexing chats that were shared with others.
From understanding astrophysics to asking for advice to improve mental health, conversations with ChatGPT were showing up on Google if you added the term “site: chatgpt.com/share” to your search query. While most of these conversations were uninteresting and simple, some of them were very personal. For example, several chats which discussed issues like mental health, sex life, career advice, addiction, physical abuse and other serious topics could be brought up with a simple Google search.
Google is no longer showing publicly shared ChatGPT conversations. (Express Photo)
While ChatGPT does not make conversations public by default, chats that were shared using the “Share” button in the app and website were indexed by search engines like Google. For those unaware, ChatGPT’s share feature creates a link, which you can send to others over WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook so they can view your conversation with the AI chatbot.
The feature also allows people who have the link to continue the conversation with ChatGPT if they want to. One thing to note is that even if you delete the link, it might still be visible on cached pages.
First discovered by Fast Company, the publication says that around 4,500 conversations were visible on Google site search, but most of them did not contain personally identifiable information. However, if someone included a name or phrase in a chat, it may show up in search results.
The publication goes on to say that the number of leaked chats is probably much higher than the stated figure, as Google may not index all conversations. In a statement to PCMag, a Google spokesperson said that OpenAI is responsible for making these chats visible to search engines.
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… pic.twitter.com/mGI3lF05Ua
— DANΞ (@cryps1s) July 31, 2025
In a post on X, an OpenAI employee said that they have now removed the feature that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines. He went on to say that this “was a short-lived experiment” and that it “introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn’t intend to.”
OpenAI’s Shared Links FAQ states that ChatGPT chats are not made public unless you tick the “Make this chat discoverable” option when using the AI chatbot’s built-in share feature. As it turns out, many ChatGPT users may have accidentally ticked this box, thinking it necessary to do so if they want their conversation to be visible to others.
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In case you are wondering, these shared links can be deleted at any time. To do so, head over to ChatGPT settings and, under the ‘Data controls’ section, click the ‘Manage’ button that appears to the right of the ‘Shared links’ option. Here, you will see how many chats you have shared publicly and the option to delete these links.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had also said that since there is currently no legal or policy framework for AI, users should not expect any legal confidentiality for their conversations with ChatGPT. This means that none of your chats are actually private and OpenAI might be forced to share your conversation with the AI chatbot in court if asked to do so.