When users delete their old ChatGPT conversations, the logs will now be permanently removed.
Earlier this year, OpenAI was required to retain deleted chat logs as part of its ongoing multibillion-dollar copyright lawsuit with The New York Times and other news outlets. The preservation order from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York was intended to secure potential evidence of users prompting ChatGPT to generate copyrighted material.
The order affected hundreds of millions of ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Team users, as well as API users. However, ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users, and those under a Zero Data Retention agreement, were exempt.
The decision had raised privacy concerns among users, with OpenAI’s legal team calling the NYT’s data demands an “overreach” that violated user privacy commitments. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also criticized the request as “unconscionable.”
This week, US Magistrate Judge Ona Wang approved a joint order ending the preservation requirement. However, any previously retained deleted logs will remain accessible to the NYT’s lawyers as part of the ongoing case.
