Have you wondered what happens to deleted chats in Gen AI models? I simply figured that they would hang around forever. The short answer? BoodleBox safeguards your privacy on deleted chats better than other chatbots…or so it seems to me. Am I wrong?

Let’s take a look and see how each chatbot handles your deletion request.

Did You Know?

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Updated Chart 8/29/2025

Updated Chart with Latest Information on Claude

Platform	Immediate Deletion from View	Permanent Server Deletion	Used for AI Training After Deletion	Exceptions/Special Cases	User Control Options
BoodleBox	✅ Yes – Immediately removed	✅ Immediate – No recovery option	❌ No – Never used for training	• Subject to legal discovery if proceedings begin before deletion • No backups or archives maintained	• Organize into folders instead of deleting • Same policy applies to all AI models used within BoodleBox
ChatGPT	✅ Yes – Immediately removed	⏱️ Within 30 days	❌ No – Not used for training	⚠️ 2025 Court Order: Indefinite retention for free/Plus/Pro/Teams users due to NYT lawsuit • Enterprise/Edu/Zero Data Retention users exempt	• Opt-out of training for all chats • Manage memories separately • Enterprise/ Education options available
Google Gemini	✅ Yes – From “Recent” list	⏱️ 18 months default (adjustable to 3 or 36 months)	⚠️ Maybe – If selected for human review, anonymized version retained for 3 years	• 72-hour retention even with activity off • Human-reviewed chats disconnected from account but retained • Workspace accounts follow org policies	• Turn off Gemini Apps Activity • Adjust auto-delete settings • Manual deletion options
Claude	✅ Yes – Immediately from history	⏱️ Within 30 days (consumer) Custom retention (Claude Enterprise)	✅ Yes – Free, Pro, and Max plans have data stored for 5 years by default and are used for training.	• Data retained up to 2 years for usage policy violations • Feedback submissions retained for 10 years	• Delete conversations • Custom retention for Enterprise and Education users

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BoodleBox

Here’s BoodleBox’s Mike1 bot on the subject:

When you delete a chat in BoodleBox, it’s permanently removed from your account and cannot be recovered. Deleted chats are not stored elsewhere in the platform and are not used for training AI models.

The deletion is complete – there’s no archive or recovery option for chats once you’ve deleted them, so it’s important to be certain before removing any conversations you might want to reference later. When you use Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, or any other AI model through BoodleBox, the same deletion policy applies. When you delete a chat in BoodleBox, it’s permanently removed from your account regardless of which AI model you were using in that conversation.

While BoodleBox states they permanently delete chats upon user request, this doesn’t automatically exempt them from legal discovery obligations. If legal proceedings begin or are reasonably anticipated before deletion is complete, or if BoodleBox maintains any backups or logs containing deleted chat data, this information could potentially still be subject to discovery requests.

If you’re concerned about keeping certain conversations for future reference but want to clean up your interface, consider organizing them into folders instead of deleting them. This keeps your workspace tidy while preserving important information.

ChatGPT

Compare that with this response from ChatGPT (long):

When you delete a chat in ChatGPT, here’s what happens:

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🗑️ 1. Immediate Deletion from Your View

• The chat is removed from your visible history immediately.
• You cannot recover it via the UI, API, or support tools.(OpenAI Help Center)

2. Scheduled System Deletion

• OpenAI schedules the chat for permanent removal from its servers within 30 days.
• Exceptionally, if the data becomes de‑identified or legal/security requirements apply, it may be retained longer.(TechRadar, OpenAI Help Center)

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⚙️ 3. Are Deleted Chats Used for Training?

• No, deleted chats are not used to train OpenAI’s models.(OpenAI Help Center)
• You also have the option to opt out of training—in which case chats (even active ones) won’t be used in model training. Both your existing and future chats are excluded.(OpenAI Help Center)

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⚠️ 4. Legal Exception: Court-Ordered Indefinite Retention (Updated)

The following legal exception no longer applies except for specific users/chats. US Magistrate Judge Ona Wang terminated the data preservation order, even for ChatGPT Team, allowing OpenAI to stop the controversial practice of preserving “all output log data that would otherwise be deleted” on September 26, 2025 (source).

Previously, however, although standard practice is 30‑day deletion, a recent U.S. court order in June 2025 (now terminated) related to the New York Times copyright lawsuit requires OpenAI to retain all user chats—including deleted ones—indefinitely, for free, Plus, Pro, and Teams users.(The Verge)
OpenAI is appealing this order, arguing it conflicts with its privacy commitments.(PYMNTS.com)
This exception does not apply to users on Enterprise, Edu, or those on Zero Data Retention contracts.(The Verge)

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🧠 5. What About Memory Features?

• Saved memories (your profile: preferences, personal facts) are stored separately from chat history.
• Deleting a chat does not automatically delete related memories. To remove them, you must delete the memory entry in Settings → Manage memories and delete the original chat.(OpenAI Help Center)
• Deleted memories may linger in OpenAI’s logs for up to 30 days for safety/debugging before being purged.(OpenAI Help Center)

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✅ Summary Table

Scenario	Deleted Chat Visible?	Deleted Chat Used for Training?	Permanently Deleted after 30 Days?
Standard behavior	No	No	Yes (≈30 days)
Opted-out of training	No	No	Yes
Court-ordered retention (2025)	No	No (still not used for training)	⚠️ No – stored indefinitely
Enterprise/Edu/ZDR users	No	N/A (often special policies)	Yes (standard retention)

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📝 What This Means for You

• In normal practice, deleted chats vanish from view immediately and disappear from OpenAI’s servers after around 30 days.
• They are not used in any model training.
• A legal ruling in mid‑2025 requires indefinite retention of deleted chats—but only applies to most consumer subscriptions and is currently under appeal. Only a small, audited team will have access to these logs.(The Verge, OpenAI Help Center, OpenAI Help Center, Business Insider, WIRED)

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If you’re concerned about privacy, you can:

• Turn off chat history-saving entirely (use temporary chats).(OpenAI Help Center)
• Opt out of training in your settings.(OpenAI Help Center)
• Delete saved memories manually if you shared personal information.(OpenAI Help Center)

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Let me know if you’d like help checking or changing your data settings!

• The Verge
• TechRadar
• Business Insider

Google Gemini

Deleted Gemini Chats: Unraveling Their Fate and Role in AI Training

When you delete a Gemini chat, its ultimate fate and use for training Google’s AI models depend on several factors, including your account settings and whether the conversation has been selected for human review. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what happens behind the scenes.

The Deletion Process: More Than Just Disappearing

Simply deleting a chat from your “Recent” list also removes it from your Gemini Apps Activity. This activity log is the primary record of your interactions with Gemini. By default, Google retains this activity for 18 months, though you have the option to adjust this to 3 or 36 months, or even have it deleted automatically.

However, deletion isn’t always instantaneous or absolute. Even if you have Gemini Apps Activity turned off, your conversations are still saved for up to 72 hours. Google states this is necessary to provide the service and process any feedback you might offer.

The Human Review Factor

A crucial aspect of how Gemini and other large language models improve is through a process of human review. Selected conversations are anonymized and reviewed by trained specialists to assess the quality of Gemini’s responses and identify areas for improvement, including safety.

Crucially, if your conversation is selected for this human review process, it is disconnected from your Google Account and stored separately for up to three years. This means that even if you delete the chat from your activity, the anonymized version used for training will be retained. Google emphasizes that this data is not linked back to your personal account.

Controlling Your Data: How to Manage Your Gemini Chats and Training Settings

You have significant control over how your Gemini data is stored and used. To manage your privacy, you can:

• Turn off Gemini Apps Activity: This is the most direct way to prevent your future conversations from being saved to your activity and subsequently used for training the core models. You can find this setting in your Google Account’s “My Activity” section under “Gemini Apps Activity.”
• Adjust Auto-delete Settings: You can change the default 18-month retention period to a shorter duration (3 months) or a longer one (36 months), or you can opt to have your activity deleted manually.
• Delete Your Activity: You can manually delete your entire Gemini Apps Activity history or specific conversations at any time.

It’s important to note that for users with a work or school Google Workspace account, the data handling and deletion settings are managed by their organization’s administrator.

In essence, while you can delete your Gemini chats from your direct view and activity log, anonymized versions of some conversations may be retained for a longer period to help Google refine and improve its AI models. By understanding and utilizing the available privacy settings, you can exercise greater control over your data.

Claude

Free, Pro, and Max users have until September 28, 2025 to opt out of their data/chats being used to train Claude AI. Otherwise, that data will be used for training and retained for at least five years. Read about the “new” policy announced at the end of August, 2025 here.

Read more about Claude’s deleted chats. Good luck figuring it out!