How to Keep Your Data Private in Grok: Improve the Model and Private Chat

The short version

Check one setting, use one feature and keep one habit. The setting: Improve the model. The feature: Private Chat. The habit: never paste what you wouldn’t email to a stranger.

Step by step

1. Turn off Improve the model

On grok.com, open your profile, then Settings, then Data Controls. In the Grok app, it’s under Settings, Data Controls. Look for Improve the model and switch it off if you don’t want to contribute. xAI’s consumer FAQ says this applies to new conversations; past chats aren’t changed.

2. Check the X personalization switch

If you linked your X account, Data Controls also has a Personalize Grok using X option, per xAI’s FAQ. Turn it off if you don’t want Grok to use your X activity to tailor answers.

3. Use Private Chat for sensitive questions

Start a Private Chat where your account offers it; the option’s place on screen changes between versions. xAI says Private Chat is for when you choose “not to have your conversations saved”: the chat doesn’t appear in your history, it isn’t used for training, and it’s deleted from xAI’s systems within 30 days.

4. Clean up chats and files

Delete single chats from your history, or all of them from Settings. On the web, grok.com/files lists the files you’ve uploaded so you can delete them. xAI’s FAQ says deleted chats and files are removed within standard retention windows, unless they must be kept for legal, compliance or safety reasons.

5. Review connectors

If you connected Gmail, Google Drive or Outlook, Grok can read them when your question relates to them. Remove any you don’t use at grok.com/connectors.

Never paste

• Passwords, recovery codes or API keys
• Full card or bank numbers, Social Security or ID numbers
• Other people’s medical, legal or financial details
• Confidential company documents you’re not allowed to share

Prompts to copy

Work with placeholders:

I've replaced names and numbers with [CLIENT], [AMOUNT] and [DATE].
Keep the placeholders exactly as they are in your answer.
[paste text]

Strip personal details first:

Rewrite this text and replace every name, email address, phone number and street address
with a placeholder like [NAME1]. Don't change anything else.
[paste text]

Example

You want: help replying to a customer’s complaint about a late refund.

A safe approach: open a Private Chat, paste the complaint with the customer’s name and order number replaced by [CUSTOMER] and [ORDER], and ask for a reply. Then fill in the real details in your own email program.

Mistakes to avoid

• Changing the setting on X only. grok.com and the app have their own Data Controls.
• Assuming the setting erases the past. Delete old chats separately.
• Forgetting uploaded files. Check grok.com/files now and then.
• Using a personal account for company data when your employer has rules or a business plan. xAI’s Grok Business workspaces have their own privacy terms.

Good to know

Menu names change. If you can’t find a setting, search xAI’s Grok FAQ at docs.x.ai or x.ai’s consumer FAQ. You can also delete your whole xAI account at accounts.x.ai; xAI says you can restore it within 30 days by logging in again.

Related: stop X using your posts to train Grok and connect your apps to Grok.