Google Bard, Google’s chatbot, has recently received a significant update that allows it to perform more advanced tasks such as sorting through Google Docs, rediscovering old Gmail messages, and searching through YouTube videos. While exploring the new extensions and features of Google Bard may be tempting, it is crucial to understand how to protect your privacy when interacting with the chatbot.
Google Bard was launched in March of this year, shortly after OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public. Similar to other chatbots, Bard is designed to mimic human conversation. However, Google has introduced new features to make Bard more practical and useful.
One of the concerns about using Bard is the potential privacy implications. Every conversation you have with the chatbot is tracked, logged, and used to train the AI system. This raises questions about the safety and security of your data. Here are some tips to help protect your privacy and exert control over the information you provide to Bard:
1. Manage Bard Activity: By default, Bard stores every interaction you have with the chatbot for 18 months. This includes your prompts, approximate location, IP address, and any physical addresses associated with your Google account. However, you can choose to turn off Bard Activity in the Bard Activity tab. This disables autosaving of your prompts and allows you to delete past interactions.
2. Opting out of Human Review: Turning off Bard Activity prevents your new chats from being selected for human review, unless you specifically report a particular interaction to Google. Keep in mind that disabling Bard Activity also means you cannot use the chatbot’s extensions that connect it to Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs.
3. Manual Interaction Deletion: Although you can manually delete interactions with Bard, it is important to note that the data may not be immediately removed from Google servers. The company decides when to delete the data, if ever. Google utilizes automated tools to remove personally identifiable information from conversations to protect user privacy. However, a subset of conversations is still selected for human review and stored by Google for up to three years, even if you clear it out of your Bard Activity.
In addition to these privacy considerations, it is worth mentioning that conversations with Bard may potentially be indexed by Google Search. This means that any conversation you want to share with friends or coworkers through Bard could potentially be accessible through a Google search. It is crucial to be cautious when sharing sensitive information or discussing private matters with the chatbot.
As technology continues to advance and AI-powered chatbots become more prevalent, it is essential to stay informed about privacy settings and options available to protect your data. Google Bard’s new features provide exciting possibilities, but it is crucial to make informed decisions about your privacy.
In conclusion, while exploring the new features and extensions of Google Bard can be exciting, it is vital to be mindful of your privacy. By managing Bard activity, opting out of human review, and being cautious about sharing sensitive information, you can protect your privacy while making the most of this powerful chatbot.