X (formerly Twitter) recently implemented a change that's causing quite a stir. By default, they’re allowing Grok, their AI chatbot, to train on our data – our tweets and other interactions on X – without our explicit consent.
Many tech companies, including Google and Meta, are looking to use our “public” data to train their AI chatbots. If you post publicly – not with a private account or messaging with individuals – tech companies see it as being in the public domain. This is the position X is taking with our public tweets. Fortunately, at least private accounts and DMs are still off limits for the X Grok training.
It's not a shock that X quietly updated its terms of service to make this happen. But what really gets to me is how tech giants like X now use our data to train their AI tools without asking. It feels like we're losing more of our privacy every day.
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The good news is that while we may have been automatically opted in to sharing our data, we can choose whether our public posts get fed into Grok for AI training. Here's how to turn off AI training for your X account.
- In the X app, tap on your profile icon in the top corner
- Select ‘Settings and Support’ and then tap on the ‘Settings and Privacy’ option under it.
- Select ‘Privacy and Safety’ and then ‘Grok.’
- Toggle off the option that lets Grok use your data for training.
If you’ve been using the Grok chatbot, you aren’t done yet. X also uses your conversations with the chatbot for training unless you delete them. You’ll notice a link to delete your conversation history with Grok. Just tap it, and when the verification message pops up, hit the delete button to confirm.
The other way to hide from Grok is to make your X account private. However, since most of us use X to be heard and seen, turning off AI training in Settings is the better choice.
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[Image credit: screenshot via Techlicious, mockup of phone in hand via Canva]
As a lifelong tech enthusiast, Hemant Saxena is always looking for the latest gadgets that intersect with his hobbies. For more than a decade, he has been writing about consumer gadgets, popular apps, and social media tips for publications, including Windows Club and Techmate Tricks.
