Grok chats were indexed by search engines
Reports indicate that conversations users had with Grok, the chatbot owned by Elon Musk’s xAI, are now appearing in Google Search results. A report by Forbes reveals that users who clicked on the “share” button during their conversations with Grok have inadvertently made their chats public. In simpler terms, this indicates that search engines have rendered these chats available to the public, allowing anyone to search for those conversations online. In a striking development, this incident follows closely on the heels of OpenAI experiencing a comparable issue. Just weeks ago, thousands of users’ chats with ChatGPT were indexed on Google, exposing their conversations with the AI bot to public scrutiny.
Upon selecting the “share” button in a chat, a Grok user triggers the platform to automatically create a unique URL tailored to that particular conversation. The link can be copied and shared across multiple channels, including email, direct messaging apps, or social media platforms. This enables others to view the exchange without requiring access to the user’s account. However, a report by Forbes brings to light a significant privacy concern: these links are not confined to private sharing. Major search engines, including Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, are indexing them instead. Once created, some of these shared Grok conversations can become publicly searchable on the open web. This development allows anyone to discover them by entering the right keywords into a search engine.
What transpired with OpenAI’s ChatGPT? OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has rolled out a new sharing feature that enables users to create public links to their conversations. Users can obtain a unique URL by clicking the “share” button and selecting “create link.” This link, which resembles chat.openai.com/share/…, can then be shared via email, messaging, or social platforms. However, a significant number of users remained oblivious to the fact that these links were not completely private. Unless certain settings were disabled, it is possible that search engines such as Google and Bing could index the shared conversations. This indicated that individuals not part of the target audience might inadvertently discover these discussions via keyword searches. It is crucial to note that only the conversations that were manually shared experienced this issue. However, many individuals believed that the links were limited to recipients alone. In response to the report, OpenAI acknowledged that the problem stemmed from a brief “experiment” aimed at assessing the potential benefits of enhancing the discoverability of shared chats. The decision, however, raised privacy concerns, leading OpenAI to swiftly eliminate the option for these links to be indexed. The company clarified, “while users can still share conversation links, they will no longer appear in search results on platforms like Google.”
