OpenAI Enables Marketing Cookies by Default for Free ChatGPT Users
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OpenAI has updated its privacy policy to enable marketing cookies by default for free ChatGPT users in the US, allowing the company to track users across the web to promote its products. The company states that user conversations with ChatGPT remain private and are not shared with advertisers. Users can opt out of marketing tracking through the app's settings, but the default setting for free accounts is to allow such tracking.
- ▪OpenAI now uses cookies to promote its products on third-party websites, with marketing settings enabled by default for free users.
- ▪User conversations with ChatGPT are not shared with marketing partners, according to OpenAI's spokesperson.
- ▪Free accounts have marketing tracking enabled by default, while paying accounts do not.
- ▪Users can opt out of marketing tracking via 'Settings > Data Controls > Marketing Privacy' in the ChatGPT app.
- ▪OpenAI may share limited identifiers like cookie IDs or email addresses with advertising platforms to measure ad effectiveness.
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Reece RogersMaddy VarnerGearMay 1, 2026 5:46 PMOpenAI Enables Marketing Cookies by Default for Free ChatGPT UsersChatGPT’s new privacy policy states how the company uses cookies for tracking, to turn free users into paying subscribers.Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyOpenAI is ready to target free users of its services with advertisements around the web, based on what it knows about them.On Thursday, OpenAI sent an email to users laying out major changes to the AI company’s privacy policy in the US. “We’ll now use cookies to promote OpenAI products and services on other websites,” reads the email sent on April 30. “This does not impact your conversations in ChatGPT.
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