In a revealing podcast appearance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has issued a serious caution to users of ChatGPT, warning that conversations with the AI chatbot are not protected by legal confidentiality. Speaking on comedian Theo Von’s podcast “This Past Weekend,” Altman noted that discussions with ChatGPT, even when deeply personal, do not enjoy the same legal safeguards as conversations with lawyers, doctors, or therapists.
“People talk about the most personal details in their lives to ChatGPT,” Altman said. “Young people especially use it as a therapist, a life coach for relationship problems. And right now, if you talk to a therapist or a lawyer or a doctor about those problems, there’s legal privilege for it. There’s doctor-patient confidentiality, there’s legal confidentiality, whatever. And we haven’t figured that out yet for when you talk to ChatGPT.”
Altman said that while ChatGPT has become a go-to platform for emotional support and personal guidance, there is no established policy or legal framework to protect these conversations. “If you go talk to ChatGPT about your most sensitive stuff and then there’s like a lawsuit or whatever, we could be required to produce that, and I think that’s very screwed up,” he said.
The warning comes amid growing public reliance on generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity AI. Privacy experts and cybersecurity analysts are now echoing Altman’s concerns, urging users to think twice before sharing confidential or legally sensitive information with AI platforms.
Altman went further to advocate for a concept of “AI privilege,” which would protect user conversations with chatbots in the same way as communications with licensed professionals. “I think we should have the same concept of privacy for your conversations with AI that we do with a therapist,” he said, adding that no one had to consider these implications just a year ago.
The concerns raised by Altman are not just theoretical. OpenAI is currently facing a legal challenge that has intensified the debate over user privacy. As part of an ongoing copyright lawsuit brought by The New York Times, a US court has ordered OpenAI to preserve and segregate all ChatGPT output data that would normally be deleted. US Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang issued the order on May 13, 2025, and it was later upheld by District Judge Sidney Stein on June 26. This means ChatGPT conversations, even those users believe to be deleted, are now being retained indefinitely and could be exposed during legal proceedings.
The order applies to users of ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Team accounts, while enterprise and educational users are exempt. Altman acknowledged the implications, especially since ChatGPT conversations are not encrypted like those on secure messaging platforms. Under normal operations, deleted chats are removed from OpenAI’s servers within 30 days, but the court order has put that process on hold.
The revelations have alarmed privacy advocates who point to OpenAI’s official privacy policy, which states that user data may be shared with third parties, including government authorities, to comply with legal obligations or prevent harm.
Until new legal protections are in place, users are advised to treat conversations with AI chatbots as they would any unsecured digital communication, with caution. For support involving legal, medical, or mental health issues, experts continue to recommend consulting licensed professionals who are bound by confidentiality laws.
OpenAI has yet to release an official statement addressing Altman’s remarks, but the conversation around AI privacy is expected to intensify as lawmakers and technology leaders weigh new regulatory frameworks to protect users in the age of artificial intelligence.
