What should you never paste into AI?
A beginner-friendly guide to the kinds of information you should keep out of AI chats, tools, and automations.
Quick answer: Never paste passwords, API keys, private documents, medical details, financial information, confidential work, or someone else’s personal data into AI unless you know exactly how that tool stores and uses it.
The simple version
Treat AI like a helpful assistant in a shared room. It may feel private, but chats can be stored, reviewed, connected to other apps, or sent through external systems.
Some information should stay out of AI
Passwords, API keys, private documents, medical details, financial records, confidential work, and other people’s personal data can cause real harm if they leak or are reused incorrectly.
Full client email thread with names, account numbers, and internal notes.
Same task rewritten with [CLIENT], [ACCOUNT], and [PRIVATE_NOTE] placeholders.
A quick paste safety check
Run this before sending text, files, screenshots, or logs to AI.
- Scan for secrets and credentials.
- Remove names, IDs, and contact details.
- Replace private context with placeholders.
- Ask whether the tool is allowed for this data.
- Use a safer tool or offline option if needed.
A real example
If you want help rewriting a support reply, paste the structure and tone request—not the customer’s full account history, password reset link, or payment details.
Example prompt: “Rewrite this message for a clearer tone. I removed private details and replaced them with placeholders: [CLIENT], [ORDER_ID], [ISSUE].”What to be careful with
Screenshots, PDFs, spreadsheets, and code can hide secrets you did not notice. Connected plugins and automations can widen the blast radius.
- No passwords or API keys.
- No full personal records.
- No confidential employer or client files.
- Use placeholders when possible.
- Check tool privacy settings first.
A common mistake is thinking “I will delete the chat later.” Prevention is safer than cleanup.
Take one message you want AI to improve and replace every sensitive detail with a placeholder before pasting.
Try prompt: “Help me improve this text without needing real private details. Use placeholders where sensitive information would normally appear: [message].”One thing to remember
If you would not post it in a shared workspace, do not paste it into AI without checking privacy settings first.
Tools to try for this lesson
Optional tools for practicing this AI Privacy & Safety lesson. Use them to review settings, reduce data risk, verify claims, and browse the full Neural Nexus index for more options.