Overview

• The short-lived share feature let users generate public URLs and opt in to allow Google and other search engines to index their ChatGPT conversations.
• Fast Company’s investigation identified nearly 4,500 shared chats in Google results, including transcripts revealing users’ mental health struggles, addiction issues and personal histories.
• Many users reported confusion over the “make this chat discoverable” toggle, indicating they believed shared conversations remained private.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that ChatGPT interactions lack legal privilege and could be subject to subpoenas in court proceedings.
• The incident has renewed calls for clearer privacy guidance, improved interface design and stronger legal frameworks for AI-mediated communications.