As Kenyans increasingly integrate Artificial Intelligence into their daily lives, a new feature from OpenAI serves as both a novelty and a critical privacy alert. The 'Your Year with ChatGPT' function, much like Spotify's popular 'Wrapped', offers users a summary of their interactions, but its availability hinges on privacy settings that many may not be aware are active by default.

This seemingly fun recap exposes a crucial reality: for the feature to work, ChatGPT must have access to your chat history and memories. By default, OpenAI uses the conversations from free and Plus users to train and improve its AI models. This means personal details, business ideas, and sensitive information shared with the chatbot could become part of its learning dataset.

A Wake-Up Call for the World's Top Users

The privacy implications are especially significant for Kenya, which recent studies have ranked as the world's top user of ChatGPT. A staggering 42.1% of Kenyan internet users aged 16 and above have used the tool, a trend driven by a young, tech-savvy population and a thriving gig economy where AI is used for everything from coding to content creation. This high adoption rate means a vast amount of local data is being fed into OpenAI's systems, often without explicit, active consent from the user.

While Kenya has the Data Protection Act of 2019 to govern the use of personal data, the default settings of global tech platforms often place the burden of protection on the individual. The Act emphasizes informed consent, a principle that is tested when data-sharing options are automatically enabled.

How to Take Control of Your ChatGPT Data

For the millions of Kenyans using ChatGPT, securing digital privacy is paramount. Fortunately, OpenAI provides tools to manage how your data is used. Disabling the setting that allows your chats to be used for training is a straightforward process that does not delete your past conversations.

Follow these steps to protect your information:

• Log in to ChatGPT: Access your account on the web or mobile app.
• Go to Settings: Click on your profile name, usually in the bottom-left corner, and select 'Settings'.
• Find Data Controls: In the settings menu, navigate to the 'Data Controls' section.
• Turn Off Training: Locate the toggle switch for “Improve the model for everyone” and turn it off. This action will prevent your future conversations from being used to train OpenAI's models.

Users can also manage 'Memory' in the 'Personalization' settings to control whether the chatbot remembers details from past conversations. For more sensitive queries, using the 'Temporary Chat' feature prevents conversations from being saved to your history or used for training.

As AI tools become more embedded in our work and personal lives, this incident is a powerful reminder. The convenience of AI should not come at the cost of personal privacy. A quick check of your settings can ensure your conversations remain your own.