Jake Peterson

Jake Peterson Senior Technology Editor

Experience

Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Tech Editor, and has been covering tech news and how-tos for nearly a decade. His team covers all things technology, including AI, smartphones, computers, game consoles, and subscriptions.

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May 15, 2026

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Key Takeaways

Chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude may be sharing your contact information.

A report from MIT Technology Review highlights examples of people discovering that various chatbots were sharing their private phone numbers and home addresses.

These chatbots may be pulling from internet forums, city records, or from the huge datasets they're trained on.

There are some data removal tools you can use to try to mitigate the privacy invasion, but there are no guarantees.

Table of Contents

When talking to a chatbot like ChatGPT, you should never assume your conversations…