Sam Altman: ChatGPT Therapy Users Have No Privacy Protection in Court

News explainer. First published August 19, 2025. Updated October 2026.

In July 2025, OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, said on a podcast that conversations with ChatGPT do not carry the legal protection that talking to a therapist, lawyer or doctor does. Here is what he said, what “privilege” means, what has changed since, and what it means if you use a chatbot for personal topics.

What Altman Said

Altman spoke on Theo Von’s podcast, This Past Weekend. TechCrunch reported on July 25, 2025 that he said people, especially young people, use ChatGPT as a therapist or life coach, and that talking to a therapist, lawyer or doctor comes with legal privilege while “we haven’t figured that out yet” for ChatGPT. He called the situation “very screwed up” and said that, in a lawsuit, OpenAI could currently be required to hand over those conversations (TechCrunch).

An earlier version of this page quoted people from this site, cited surveys and statistics, and named courts that we could not verify. We removed all of that. The facts above come from the news report.

What “Privilege” Means

Legal privilege is a rule that protects some private conversations from being demanded in court. In US federal courts, conversations between a patient and a licensed psychotherapist are protected under the Supreme Court’s 1996 decision in Jaffee v. Redmond (Cornell Law School). States have their own versions. Exceptions exist, such as certain safety situations, and rules vary by state, so this is general information, not legal advice.

A chatbot company is not a licensed provider, and no such rule currently covers your chats. Whether lawmakers or courts will ever extend something similar to AI is an open question. Altman said he supports the idea, but no law has been passed.

The New York Times Case

Altman’s comments came while OpenAI was fighting a court order in its copyright lawsuit with The New York Times. The order would have required OpenAI to save chats from hundreds of millions of ChatGPT users worldwide, with business enterprise customers excluded. OpenAI called it “an overreach” and appealed (TechCrunch).

Later in 2025, that requirement was relaxed. Reporting said a judge’s October 2025 order ended the duty to keep logs that would otherwise be deleted, with exceptions for logs already saved and for certain accounts the Times flagged (Engadget). The case continued after that, and details change, so check current news if this matters to you. The point stands: a chat service can be ordered to keep or produce data.

What This Means for You

None of this means ChatGPT is unsafe to use for everyday tasks. It does mean you should think before sharing very personal details.

• Do not type anything into a chatbot you would be harmed by if it were read by a stranger, an employer or a court.
• Avoid sharing names, medical records, immigration status, passwords or details of crimes.
• Check the privacy and data settings in the app you use, including whether chats are used for training and how deletion works. Settings and policies change, so read the current version.
• Remember that “deleted” does not always mean gone at once, and legal orders can override normal deletion.
• If you want confidential support, a licensed therapist is covered by confidentiality rules, with limited exceptions that your therapist can explain at your first visit.

If You Have Been Using AI for Support

Many people use chatbots because therapy is expensive or hard to get, and it is understandable. A chatbot can be a place to organize your thoughts. The American Psychological Association says general AI chatbots are not a substitute for qualified care (APA). If you are struggling, a person can help.

• Find a therapist through Psychology Today or the APA Psychologist Locator.
• SAMHSA’s FindTreatment.gov and its National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, can point to low-cost options.
• Community clinics and some universities offer lower-cost sessions.

If you are in crisis. Call or text 988 in the US (988 Lifeline), or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). In an emergency, call 911.

For Parents

Teens use chatbots, and many do not think about who can read their chats. Talk about what is safe to share, and agree that anything involving self-harm or abuse should go to a trusted adult, not a bot.

Can ChatGPT conversations be used in court?

Altman said OpenAI could be required to produce them in a lawsuit, because there is no privilege for chatbot conversations. Whether a particular request would succeed depends on the case, so speak to a lawyer about your own situation.

Is a therapist’s confidentiality absolute?

No. There are limits, such as serious risk of harm to you or others, and rules differ by state. A licensed therapist can explain them at the start of treatment.

Does turning off chat history make my chats private?

It limits how chats are stored and used, but it does not create legal privilege. Policies and court orders can change what is kept, so read the current settings.

This page is for education only. It is not medical or legal advice.