ChatGPT circa 2022. I requested to delete my account using a "delete my chatgpt account reque
openai
| Source: Mastodon | Original article
OpenAI users who tried to erase their ChatGPT footprints this week ran into an unexpected snag: the platform’s deletion request mechanism, which promises to purge personal data within 30 days, still ties the former account to a locked phone number and retains a minimal data set for legal compliance. One user, who had logged in only five times, posted a terse “delete my ChatGPT account request” on social media, only to discover that the process is not instantaneous and that the phone number used to sign up cannot be reused for a new account until the deletion cycle completes.
The episode surfaces at a moment when data‑privacy regulators across Europe are tightening scrutiny of AI providers under the GDPR and the upcoming Digital Services Act. OpenAI’s help centre states that while most user‑generated content is erased, a “limited set of data” may be kept longer if required by law, a clause that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates who argue it creates a gray area for long‑term profiling. The incident also fuels a broader debate about the political weight of chatbots, as policymakers grapple with how AI‑driven dialogue tools influence public discourse and academic research.
What matters most is the signal this sends to millions of casual users who assume a simple click will wipe their digital trace. The friction in the deletion flow could deter adoption, especially among privacy‑conscious markets in the Nordics, where data‑sovereignty is a core value. It also underscores the need for clearer, auditable deletion logs that satisfy both users and regulators.
Going forward, observers will watch for OpenAI’s response: whether the company rolls out a more transparent dashboard for data‑control, tightens the reuse policy for phone numbers, or amends its retention language to align with EU legislation. Any change could set a precedent for how large‑scale AI services handle the “right to be forgotten” in practice.
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