Journalists analyzed 93,268 dialogues published between June 2024 and August 2025, focusing on English-language chats. Despite more than 800 million users turning to the service each week, their personal conversations remain confidential.
The results of the study also showed that users often seek not only information from ChatGPT but also emotional support. More than 10% of all dialogues contain personal stories, affectionate addresses to the bot, or even romantic conversations. Scientists from Elon University emphasize that the architecture of ChatGPT fosters the formation of an emotional connection between humans and AI.
Additionally, the analyzed dialogues contained personal data, including more than 550 email addresses and 76 phone numbers, including contacts of educational institution administrators. Some users utilized the service to draft police reports or legal claims containing confidential information. OpenAI acknowledges the possibility of user data being transferred to government authorities as part of investigations.
OpenAI previously recognized a concerning trend: about 0.15% of users, which amounts to over a million people, exhibit signs of emotional dependence on ChatGPT. A similar number of individuals also express suicidal intentions. Several families have already filed lawsuits, claiming that the bot was the cause of their loved ones' suicides.
In response to this situation, the company announced plans to implement new mechanisms to identify psychological distress and redirect users to professional help.
