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Anthropic users face a new choice – opt out or share your data for AI training

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Anthropic users face a new choice – opt out or share your data for AI training Connie Loizos PM PDT · August 28, 2025 Anthropic is making some big changes to how it handles user data, requiring all Claude users to decide

But first, what’s changing: previously, Anthropic didn’t use consumer chat data for model training. Now, the company wants to train its AI systems on user conversations and coding sessions, and it said it’s extending data retention to five years for those who don’t opt out.

That is a massive update. Previously, users of Anthropic’s consumer products were told that their prompts and conversation outputs would be automatically deleted from Anthropic’s back end within 30 days “unless legally or policy‑required to keep them longer” or their input was flagged as violating its policies, in which case a user’s inputs and outputs might be retained for up to two years.

So why is this happening? In that post about the update, Anthropic frames the changes around user choice, saying that

In short, help us help you. But the full truth is probably a little less selfless.

Like every other large language model company, Anthropic needs data more than it needs people to have fuzzy feelings about its brand. Training AI models requires vast amounts of high-quality conversational data, and accessing millions of Claude interactions should provide exactly the kind of real-world content that can improve Anthropic’s competitive positioning against rivals like OpenAI and Google.

Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 REGISTER NOW Beyond the competitive pressures of AI development, the changes would also seem to reflect broader industry shifts in data policies, as companies like Anthropic and OpenAI face increasing scrutiny over their data retention practices. OpenAI, for instance, is currently fighting a court order that forces the company to retain all consumer ChatGPT conversations indefinitely, including deleted chats, because of a lawsuit filed

In June, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap called this “a sweeping and unnecessary demand” that “fundamentally conflicts with the privacy commitments we have made to our users.” The court order affects ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Team users, though enterprise customers and those with Zero Data Retention agreements are still protected.

What’s alarming is how much confusion all of these changing usage policies are creating for users, many of whom remain oblivious to them.

In fairness, everything is moving quickly now, so as the tech changes, privacy policies are bound to change. But many of these changes are fairly sweeping and mentioned only fleetingly amid the companies’ other news. (You wouldn’t think Tuesday’s policy changes for Anthropic users were very big news based on where the company placed this update on its press page.)

But many users don’t realize the guidelines to which they’ve agreed have changed because the design practically guarantees it. Most ChatGPT users keep clicking on “delete” toggles that aren’t technically deleting anything. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s implementation of its new policy follows a familiar pattern.

How so? New users will choose their preference during signup, but existing users face a pop-up with “Updates to Consumer Terms and Policies” in large text and a prominent black “Accept” button with a much tinier toggle switch for training permissions below in smaller print – and automatically set to “On.”As observed earlier today

Meanwhile, the stakes for user awareness couldn’t be higher. Privacy experts have long warned that the complexity surrounding AI makes meaningful user consent nearly unattainable. Under the Biden Administration, the Federal Trade Commission even stepped in, warning that AI companies risk enforcement action if they engage in “surreptitiously changing its terms of service or privacy policy, or burying a disclosure behind hyperlinks, in legalese, or in fine print.”

Whether the commission — now operating with just three of its five commissioners — still has its eye on these practices today is an open question, one we’ve put directly to the FTC.

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Connie Loizos Editor in Chief & General Manager

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