I recently decided to delete my ChatGPT account. Why? Because I refuse to contribute to training proprietary AI models that only make BigTech more powerful. OpenAI’s data retention policy claims they’ll delete your data in 30 days—except when they decide to keep it “where required or permitted by law.” Given the track record of tech giants, that likely means forever. Every question I asked, every word I typed, will be used for their benefit, not for my benefit.

I’m not afraid—but I am mindful. For now, I’m using DeepSeek Chat as a more transparent alternative while researching open-source, self-hostable models. If you care about privacy and resisting AI monopolies, it’s time to rethink which platforms we feed with our data.