Using AI on a shared or work computer
On a shared machine, most of what exposes you is local: a signed-in session, browser history, autofill, and a cached page. On a company machine, add network monitoring and managed-browser policy, which no setting inside the chat can affect. Handle the local part first, because that is the part you control.
Privacy advice usually addresses what a service does with your data. On a shared or work computer the bigger risk sits closer: the next person at the keyboard, or the software the employer installed. These are different problems with different fixes.
On this page
What stays on the machine
A conversation leaves traces on the device even when the service keeps nothing. The address sits in browser history, the page may sit in cache, and typed text can end up in autofill. Anyone using that account afterwards can find all three without any technical skill.
A signed-in session is the biggest local risk
If you sign in to an assistant on a shared computer, the session usually stays active after you walk away, and with it your entire history. A chat that requires no sign-in avoids that risk, because there is no signed-in session to take over. The recent-chats list in that browser still shows what you asked, so clear it before you leave.
A work laptop is a different situation
Managed machines commonly run monitoring software, and company networks commonly inspect traffic. Neither is affected by anything you set inside a chat, and a private browsing window does not change either. On a managed device, treat what you type as visible to the employer, because in many arrangements it is.
Borrowed phones and family tablets
A borrowed phone carries the same local risk with a shorter list of fixes, because you rarely control its settings. A guest profile solves it where the device offers one. Where it does not, use a private window plus a service that needs no sign-in. That leaves nothing behind except the address in a recent-tabs list, and closing the tab clears the address too.
What actually helps
Use a service that needs no account, so nothing stays signed in. Close the window when you finish, and on a shared machine use a private window, because this chat lists your recent chats in the browser it runs in. Clear history afterwards on a shared machine. On a work device, move anything personal to your own phone on mobile data, which is the only step that leaves the company network entirely.
Questions about private AI
Does a private browsing window solve this?
It solves the local half: history and cache are not kept after the window closes. It does nothing about network monitoring or about what the service stores.
Can my employer see the text of my conversation?
On a managed device, often yes. Monitoring software can read the screen or the keyboard before anything is encrypted for transport.
Is a personal phone on office wifi safer?
Somewhat, and not completely. The device is unmanaged, and the network is still the company's. Mobile data avoids both.
Open a chat that needs no sign-in, so no account stays signed in on the machine.
Open private chat