Treat the prompt box as an external service

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

Minimize and replace

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.

Practise on real work

Sanitize before you prompt

Do this review yourself before any information is entered into an AI tool.

Prompt to adapt

Do not paste the original material. First make a private list of names, identifiers, confidential facts, account information, and details about other people. Remove or replace every item. Then decide whether the remaining task still needs AI.

Judgment checks

  • Does your employer or client permit this use?
  • Can the task work with roles and placeholders?
  • Would disclosure of the remaining text harm anyone?

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.

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.

Discuss your task with Ikram

Scope and fees are agreed before work starts. The guides stay free.

Weekly newsletter: coming soon. Practical tasks and prompts are planned for Substack.

Official sources and further reading

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