How to Keep Your Data Private in Perplexity: Opt Out and Incognito

The short version

Turn off AI data retention once, and use Incognito for anything sensitive. On personal plans, Perplexity keeps the AI training setting on by default. Switching it off takes a minute, but it only covers data from that point forward.

Step by step

1. Open your account settings at perplexity.ai/account/details, or select your avatar and All Settings.
2. Go to Preferences and find the AI data retention toggle. If it’s on, your data is being collected for AI training. Turn it off.
3. Check Memory. Under Settings, Memory, you can turn off using your search history and saved notes, and open Manage memories to delete individual entries or clear them all.
4. Use Incognito for one-off sensitive questions. Incognito sessions expire within 24 hours and don’t use or add to Memory.
5. Keep sessions private. Sessions are private by default. If you shared one with Anyone with the link, switch it back to Private.
6. Delete what you don’t need. In History, use the three-dot menu on a session to delete it, or the menu at the top right to delete all sessions. Deleted sessions can’t be recovered.

Prompts to copy

Ask without personal details:

A family member, 70s, was prescribed [medication] alongside [other medication].
What interactions should we ask the pharmacist about? Cite official health sources.

Generalize a business question:

A small retail business has a customer disputing a $1,200 charge after 60 days.
What are the usual steps and rules in [state]? No names needed.

Example

A therapist wants help understanding a new insurance billing rule. She opens an Incognito session, describes the situation without any client details, and gets the official guidance with citations. The session disappears within a day, and nothing is added to her Memory.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming opting out deletes the past. Perplexity says previously collected training data can’t be removed.
• Forgetting Memory. Perplexity says it may use memory content to improve its models unless AI data retention is off.
• Sharing sessions with attachments. Anyone with the link can see uploaded files. Export to PDF instead.
• Using a shared or work computer signed in. Sign out when you’re done, or use Sign out of all sessions in account settings if a device is lost.
• Pasting what you shouldn’t. Passwords, card numbers, client files and other people’s private details don’t belong in any AI tool.

Good to know

Files attached to sessions are kept for 30 days. If you delete your account, Perplexity says your personal data is removed within 30 days; cancel any subscription first, because deleting the account doesn’t cancel it. Enterprise accounts are never used for AI training.

Related: use Perplexity Projects and use the Comet browser.