AI chatbots have become remarkably easy to talk to.

We ask them to plan vacations, fix awkward emails, explain mysterious noises coming from the washing machine, and settle debates that something didn’t need settling.

But, somewhere between, "What should I make for dinner?" and, "Here's my financial history," we may want to establish a boundary or two.

Cybersecurity and privacy experts consistently warn us not to give sensitive personal information to public AI tools. 

A good rule of thumb is, if you wouldn't post it on social media, don't share it with AI.

So, before your chatbot becomes your accountant, doctor, lawyer, and keeper of all earthly secrets, here are five things worth keeping offline.

1. Passwords and Login Information

Let's start with the easy one.

Your chatbot will never need your password. It also doesn't need your PIN, authentication code, API key, or other login credentials.

Microsoft specifically warns us not to paste passwords and other credentials into AI prompts because that information may appear in logs or create other security risks.

You can ask AI to help you create a strategy for stronger passwords. Just don't introduce it to the passwords you already have.

Some relationships benefit from a little mystery.

2. Financial and Identity Information

AI can be genuinely useful for explaining a mortgage, building a sample budget, or helping us understand why our grocery bill suddenly requires its own finance department.

But, it doesn't need our actual bank account number to do any of those things.

When thinking about what not to share with AI, keep Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver's license details, credit card numbers, bank information, and similar identifiers out of the conversation.

The same principle applies to documents with that information. Before uploading a tax form or bank statement because you'd like a quick summary, stop and consider what else is hiding on the page.

AI needs the problem, not your entire identity.

3. Confidential Information From Work

Your boss may love that AI helped turn 45 minutes of staring at a blank screen into a perfectly respectable presentation.

However, your boss may be somewhat less delighted if you pasted next quarter's confidential sales figures into a public chatbot to make that happen.

Be sure to keep confidential company details and personal information about employees or vendors out of unauthorized AI services. 

For workplace tasks, follow your employer's AI policy and only use approved tools.

Otherwise, that clever five-minute shortcut could become a surprisingly long meeting with HR.

4. Detailed Medical or Legal Information

This one requires a little nuance.

There's a difference between asking, "What does high cholesterol mean?" and uploading your complete medical record with your name, date of birth, address, and patient number.

The same goes for legal questions. 

AI can explain general terminology or help you organize questions for a professional without needing every identifying detail from a confidential document.

Personal information and AI don't need to travel together. 

Remove names, addresses, account numbers, and other identifying information when general facts will do the job.

And, for medical or legal decisions with real consequences, AI isn't a substitute for the qualified human whose office has certificates on the wall.

5. Other People's Private Information

Here's one of the easiest AI privacy risks to overlook: the information you're sharing might not belong to you.

Maybe you want help writing a delicate email about a coworker. Perhaps you're trying to understand something that happened to a relative. 

You might even upload a document without realizing it contains someone else's phone number, address, financial information, or medical details.

Before sharing sensitive information in ChatGPT or another chatbot, consider whether you're also sharing someone else's history.

You can usually get the same help by changing names, removing identifying details, or describing the situation more generally.

AI Can Still Help Without Knowing Everything

None of this means we need to become terrified of AI chatbots.

The tools themselves offer privacy controls, too. 

For example, ChatGPT allows us to control whether our conversations contribute to model improvement. 

It also offers Temporary Chat for conversations we don't want to appear in our history or contributing to training. 

But, the larger lesson is simpler: give AI enough information to help without handing over every detail you have.

Ask it to plan the vacation. Ask it to fix the email. Ask it why your washing machine sounds like it's attempting to take flight.

Keep the passwords to yourself.

Looking for stories that inform and engage? From breaking headlines to fresh perspectives, WaveNewsToday has more to explore.