Apple bans ChatGPT use by employees, report says

Samsung made a similar move last month.
By Meera Navlakha  on 
In this photo illustration, the welcome screen for the OpenAI "ChatGPT" app is displayed on a laptop screen.
Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images.

Apple employees will reportedly be restricted from using ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools.

The news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as Apple is reportedly developing its own language-generating AI technology. According to the news outlet, the company is concerned that employees who use programs like OpenAI's chatbot could leak confidential data.

Employees have also been advised not to use GitHub's Copilot, which is owned by Microsoft and uses OpenAI Code to automate the writing of software code, the report says.

Apple isn't the first major tech company to restrict ChatGPT use by its staff. ChatGPT has been banned for Samsung employees after sensitive information was inadvertently leaked to the platform. Other institutions, like JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup have also banned ChatGPT to protect confidential information.

The chatbot, created by OpenAI, has recently struggled with private data breaches too. In March, a ChatGPT bug exposed user's payment information and the first message of new conversations. OpenAI seems to be taking these privacy issues seriously, rolling out a new feature in April which allows users to disable their chat history.

OpenAI is also working on a new subscription tier of ChatGPT for businesses, aimed at "professionals who need more control over their data as well as enterprises seeking to manage their end users."

Interestingly enough for Apple, OpenAI announced Thursday it was launching a ChatGPT app for Apple's own iOS.

Mashable Image
Meera Navlakha
Culture Reporter

Meera is a Culture Reporter at Mashable, joining the UK team in 2021. She writes about digital culture, mental health, big tech, entertainment, and more. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, Vice, Vogue India, and others.


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