Using AI to answer your questions, write captions, or brainstorm content? You’re not alone. But here’s the catch — every time you talk to your chatbot buddy, you might be trading data for convenience. Surfshark, the VPN folks, just dropped a spicy new report showing which AI apps are the nosiest and what kind of stuff they’re scooping up from your device. Spoiler alert: it’s not just your name and email.
Meta AI tops the data-hog leaderboard
Out of 10 popular AI chatbots, Meta AI came out as the most data-hungry. It collects 32 out of 35 possible data types. That’s 90%! We're talking everything from your location and contact info to health data, financials, and even super personal stuff like religious beliefs and political opinions. Meta’s also the only one using all that data to run third-party ads linked to your identity. Basically, it's tracking you like it's training for a marathon.
Right behind it is Google Gemini, which grabs 22 data types, including your exact location and phone contact list. Then you’ve got Poe, Claude, and Copilot — all of which collect over a dozen types of data and some even track you across apps for ad targeting.
DeepSeek brings in extra drama
In sixth place is DeepSeek, a Chinese AI that's been getting love for its answers, but also raising eyebrows over its roots. It collects 11 types of data, including your chat history. But what’s really worrying is where that data goes — straight to China Mobile, which has been banned in the US. To make things worse, DeepSeek hangs onto data for as long as it wants, storing it on servers in China. And yes, there’s already been a leak involving over a million records.
ChatGPT and Pi are a bit more chill
If you’re using ChatGPT, here’s some good news. It only collects 10 data types and doesn’t track you or serve third-party ads. You can even use temporary chats that auto-delete in 30 days or ask OpenAI not to use your data for training. Pi and Jasper, on the other hand, collect fewer data types — but still enough to target you with ads.
Moral of the story? Always check the fine print. AI may be free, but your privacy definitely isn’t.
