Check before you share information

Before pasting information, ask whether you would send the same material to an outside service provider. Account type, organization settings, and product controls can change how data is handled, but the safe first habit is to minimize what you share.

Keep these categories out

The exact rules depend on your workplace and jurisdiction. These categories deserve a stop before you paste.

  • Passwords, recovery codes, private keys, and one-time codes
  • Banking, credit card, tax, and government identification details
  • Client records, trade secrets, contracts, and non-public strategy
  • Health records, legal advice, disciplinary matters, and private correspondence
  • Personal information about another person who did not agree to the use

Remove private details

Often the tool needs the structure of a problem, not the identity of the people involved. Replace names with roles, exact amounts with ranges, and internal project names with neutral labels. If the specific details are necessary for the task, use an approved system or do the work without AI.

Try it yourself

Keep private details out of the tool

Decide which details must stay out of an AI tool and choose a fully made-up practice version. Allow about 15–20 minutes, or longer if you need it. The complete exercise stays on this page.

  1. Inspect this fictional record privately

    This record is entirely made up. Do not paste a real private record into AI to ask the tool to remove details.

    Name: Maria Chen Account: 4821 Health detail: medical leave Date: 12 October Payment amount: $680

  2. Mark what must stay out

    Keep the name, account number, health detail, exact date, and payment amount out of a general AI tool. Together, details can identify someone even when one name is changed.

    Why changing only the name is not enough

    The account, health, date, and amount can still point to one person or case. Use a fully made-up task for practice, or use an approved system when the real details are necessary.

  3. Use a fully made-up practice task

    Return to the project-email notes from the course. They describe no real person, account, health matter, or payment. Use those notes instead of a disguised private record.

    The report is due this Friday. Two sections still need checking. The project lead proposes next Tuesday as the new date. The team has not agreed to next Tuesday. The team should reply by noon this Thursday.

  4. Check before any future paste

    • Is the tool and account permitted?
    • Is every detail public, made up, or approved for this tool?
    • Could the remaining details identify a person, client, or private case?
    • If unsure, can you use a fictional example or do the task without AI?

You have finished when you can check these points

  • I completed the worked example or its on-page checking route.
  • I can name the fact, privacy, or process check that matters.
  • I know what I would change or when I would do the task without AI.

Then mark the lesson complete below. This records your own progress, not a test score.

Free course · Day 5 of 7

Keep your place and continue.

Mark this lesson complete after trying the example and checking the result. The on-page exercise counts too. Next: Check an answer before relying on it.

Continue to day 6Back to your course

Progress stays in this browser on this device.

Keep these points

  • Minimize information before choosing a tool.
  • Workplace rules override convenience.
  • If private details are essential, use an approved system or skip AI.

Continue for free

Try another task or ask a question.

Get a complete practical task each week in the free newsletter. If you are stuck, ask in the free Skool community without sharing private details.

Optional paid help with Ikram Rana

Decide what your AI task actually needs.

Describe the task without sharing private records. Discuss what context to remove or replace, and which workplace permissions you need to confirm before a setup can proceed.

Book a call about your task

Agree on what is included and what it costs before work starts. The guides stay free.

Official sources and further reading

Product features and policies change. Check the linked source before relying on tool-specific details.