Dropbox announced that it was integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT with the cloud document storage service. By default, users documents are now being scanned by ChatGPT to allow easy summaries. Don’t want your docs uploaded to OpenAI? Here’s how to disable it.
It’s true, Dropbox has decided that the benefit of being able to get easy one-click document summaries meant that partnering with OpenAI and uploading everyone’s stored documents onto the OpenAI platform made sense. They not only implemented it in mid-December of 2023, but they set the default for this option to ON. This means users more interested in retaining their privacy must find the setting and switch it to OFF. That’s the purpose of this tutorial.
Shortcuts: Log in via the Web | Dropbox Security | Dropbox AI Settings
Before we throw the Dropbox execs under the proverbial bus, however, it’s worth noting that the documents are not going to be feeding the insatiable ChatGPT large language model and that no-one other than yourself will be able to access summaries of your content. Still, it’s not a surprise that users had a very strong negative reaction, particularly since it wasn’t announced in an email to subscribers, just posted on the Dropbox blog as a casual update. No biggie, AI’s now scanning your content to make sense of what it’s all about. Yikes.
Anyway, let’s get that feature disabled, then we’ll consider the FAQ to get a bit more understanding of the service. Ready? Let’s do this!
LOG IN TO DROPBOX VIA THE WEB
The first thing to note is that the Settings option on your Mac or Windows PC does not include the new “Third-party AI” option, so you’ll need to log in to your account at dropbox.com via your favorite Web browser. Click on your profile pic on the top right to bring up the main menu:
Not too much new and exciting, and certainly no indication that there’s a big new feature you’d want to know about as a subscriber. Choose “Settings” to proceed.
You can see all the major categories along the top: General, Security, Notifications, Apps, Branding, Refer a friend, Sharing, and the new one: Third-party AI. Not even a little star next to it to draw your attention. Before we click on it, however, choose “Security“.
CHECK YOUR DROPBOX SECURITY SETTINGS
No reason not to ensure that your account is all set up properly. Click on “Security” and you’ll see that there’s a handy checkup tool:
This is well worth the two-minute detour on our journey!
Ready to proceed? Now click on “Third-party AI“.
DROPBOX THIRD-PARTY AI SETTINGS
Finally, you’ll be in the right place to disable AI:
As you can see, I’ve already disabled it on my Dropbox account. The descriptive text explains:
Use artificial intelligence (AI) from third-party partners so you can work faster in Dropbox. We only use technology partners we have vetted. Your data is never used to train their internal models, and is deleted from third-party servers within 30 days.
Does that make you possibly rethink whether to disable it? No? How about this info from the FAQ:
Either way, now you know where this control is in the Settings area and how to change it. Good luck!
Pro Tip: I’ve written quite a few articles and tutorials on computer and Web basics, from security to privacy to best practices. Please check out my Business Article and Tutorial library for much more while you’re visiting!
I checked my Dropbox settings and Third Pary AI was not listed in the security panel. Does this mean it is not operational in my account?
Did you check on the Web interface? The mobile app doesn’t seem to have this setting. If you don’t see it on the Web interface, then it’s not (yet?) enabled for your account.