Incident #E378D2 · 18 MAY 2026notable
ChatGPT EU privacy policy adds contact uploads, age estimation, parental alerts and detailed retention rules
The rewritten policy adds uploading device contacts, age estimation and verification through vendors, and alerts to parents of linked teen accounts. It also spells out retention: deleted data is removed within 30 days, but may be kept longer for security, legal or financial reasons. It adds personalization, content monitoring, and sharing of de-identified data with third parties, while listing user controls more clearly.
Taken from you
- Uploaded device contacts are processed to find which contacts use the service
- Age estimation and identity/age verification through outside vendors
- De-identified personal data may now be shared with third parties
- Content submitted on the platforms is monitored for abuse
- The policy now says explicitly that data may be kept after you delete it, including for banned content or accounts and for records of erasure requests. The old version already allowed retention for safety, security and legal reasons.
- Parents of linked teen accounts can receive alerts about serious safety concerns
- Cookies are stored with less qualification, also for authentication and support
- Usage data now includes feedback on model responses and the people you interact with
- Data processed in countries where affiliates, partners and vendors are located, not only the US
Won back
- Clear 30-day deletion window after you delete data
- The policy now lists user controls in one place, adding memory settings, data export, and deleting or archiving chats or the account.
- Teen accounts can be unlinked at any time
Evidence · 4 of 4 quotes matched in source
* _Contact Data:_ If you choose to connect your device contacts, we upload information from your device address books and check which of your contacts also use our Services.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
We also aggregate or de-identify Personal Data so that it no longer identifies you and share it with third parties for the purposes described above, such as to help improve our Services.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
Once you choose to delete Personal Data, we will remove it from our systems within 30 days unless we need to retain it for longer as described below+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
* If you enable Temporary Chat in ChatGPT, those conversations with ChatGPT will not appear in your history or be used to improve OpenAI’s models.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
Archived version ↗ · 3,781 words changed