Not everything belongs in a conversation with AI. Learn which data not to enter into an AI chat, how to write safe prompts, and how to protect your privacy while working with an AI assistant.
What Not to Paste into an AI Chat, Personal Data, Contracts, Passwords
Artificial intelligence can speed up your work, organize notes, help you write prompts, and shorten research time. That is a real benefit, but only when you use it wisely. The biggest mistake users make today is not asking the wrong questions. The problem is rather that content ends up in AI tools that should never leave a private computer, a company system, or a protected email inbox.
If you use an AI chat as a tool for work, study, or life organization, you need to know one thing: not every piece of information is meant to be pasted. According to NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in AI what matters is not only quality and effectiveness, but also risk management, privacy, and data security, NIST AI RMF, 2023. Meanwhile, the European Commission, in its guidelines on trustworthy AI, emphasizes the importance of data oversight, privacy, and responsible use, 2019.
In practice, this means one simple rule. An AI chat is not the place for everything. Even if the AI assistant works quickly, politely, and seems safe, you are still responsible for what you type into it. Below you will find a concrete list of what not to paste into an AI chat, and how to create prompts so that artificial intelligence helps instead of increasing risk.
Why caution in an AI chat is necessary
Many people treat AI like a private notebook or a digital coworker they can tell everything to. That is convenient, but it can be risky. Tools based on artificial intelligence may process submitted content at different stages of the service. Details depend on the specific provider, its privacy policy, account settings, and subscription plan. That is why you must not assume that every AI chat works like a local offline editor.
OWASP, in its list of threats for applications based on large language models, points among other things to the exposure of sensitive data, unsafe output handling, and risks related to integrations and plugins, OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, 2025. ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, also notes that AI systems can increase the attack surface if organizations do not control data flows, 2023.
This does not mean you should stop using AI. It means changing your habits. Well-written prompts and data minimization make the AI assistant still useful, while AI security improves.
Personal data, do not enter it unless necessary
The most important rule is simple: do not paste full personal data unless it is absolutely necessary. This applies both to your own data and to other people's data. The Information Commissioner's Office, the British supervisory authority, in its materials on AI and data protection, emphasizes that organizations should apply data minimization and purpose limitation, 2024. The same logic makes sense for ordinary users too.
The following should not end up in an AI chat, among other things:
- full name combined with home address,
- national ID number, identity card number, passport number,
- phone number and private email address, if they are not essential,
- data of children, students, clients, or patients,
- bank account numbers, payment card details, and billing data,
- scans of documents, photos of an ID card, driver's license, or signed contracts.
If you want artificial intelligence to help you draft a letter, CV, or complaint, remove identifying details. Instead of pasting the full document, use neutral placeholders, for example: [NAME], [SURNAME], [ADDRESS], [CLIENT NUMBER]. Such a prompt will still be effective, and the risk will drop significantly.
A good example: “Write a polite complaint regarding a delayed delivery. Keep a formal tone. Leave spaces for personal data to be filled in.” That is better than pasting a finished letter with a full address and phone number.
Contracts, documents, and company files, use extreme caution
The second category is contracts, annexes, sales offers, NDAs, HR documents, strategic presentations, and other confidential materials. Here the risk concerns not only privacy, but also trade secrets and business relationships. Even if the AI chat is meant to help you “just summarize a document,” you are sending it content that may include pricing terms, contractor details, confidentiality clauses, or information about company plans.
The European Commission, in its guidelines for trustworthy AI, points to the need for responsible data management and process transparency. From a practical perspective, this means that before using AI to work with a document, you must answer three questions:
- Does the document contain confidential information or personal data?
- Do I have permission and a legal basis to send this material to an external tool?
- Can I achieve the same result through anonymization or by summarizing it in my own words?
In many cases, the answer to the third question is yes. Instead of pasting the entire contract, write: “Explain in simple language what to pay attention to in a B2B cooperation agreement: termination periods, contractual penalties, copyright transfer, and the parties' liability.” Such a prompt lets you get a useful checklist without revealing the document's content.
If you need help with prompt creation or learning safe AI workflows, you can start with materials in the AI section and simple step-by-step implementations from the introduction.
Passwords, codes, and login details, absolutely not
Passwords and access secrets are a category you should never enter into an AI chat under any circumstances. This applies to passwords for email, online banking, social media, admin panels, VPNs, servers, APIs, and one-time codes. Also do not enter account recovery questions or full seed phrases for cryptocurrency wallets.
This matters even when it seems to you that you are only asking AI “for a moment” to organize login data or create an access table for the team. In AI security, the same rule applies as in cybersecurity in general: a secret that has been copied unnecessarily is no longer safe.
ENISA and OWASP regularly emphasize the importance of access control, secret hygiene, and reducing exposure in digital environments. In practice, this means that an AI chat does not replace a password manager. If you need help, ask artificial intelligence to generate rules for creating strong passwords or a checklist for implementing a password manager, but never paste real login data.
Sensitive content about health, finances, and private matters
Another group is information that may be personally very sensitive to you. This includes detailed test results, medical records, descriptions of mental health crises, debt data, court matters, family conflicts, or children's situations. Such content can have a high level of sensitivity, even if formally it does not always fall into the same risk category.
If you want to use an AI assistant to organize your thoughts or draft working questions for a specialist, do it carefully and anonymously. Instead of pasting your full medical history, it is better to write: “Help me prepare a list of questions for the doctor about thyroid test results” or “Help me organize questions for a lawyer about a rental agreement.” That can still be useful, but it does not require sharing all the details.
Educational content about AI and supportive use cases can also be found in tools such as Luna or Przyjaciel, but always remember that even the best AI assistant does not replace a doctor, lawyer, or security specialist. This article is for educational purposes and is not legal, medical, or financial advice.
How to write safe prompts that still work
The good news is that you do not have to give up AI to protect your privacy. You only need to change the way you phrase requests. The most practical rules are:
- minimize data, provide only what is necessary,
- anonymize, replace real data with placeholders,
- generalize, describe the problem instead of copying the whole document,
- break the task into stages, structure first, editing later,
- check account settings and the AI provider's policy,
- do not assume that every AI chat is private by default.
Example of an unsafe prompt: “Analyze this contract with my details, national ID number, and signature, and then write a response to the contractor.”
Example of a safer prompt: “Provide a checklist for reviewing a cooperation agreement. Focus on termination, contractual penalties, liability, payment terms, and copyrights. Answer in simple language.”
The difference is huge. In the second case, artificial intelligence still helps, but it does not receive data it does not need.
A simple checklist before sending a message to AI
Before you click Enter, pause for 10 seconds and do a quick review. This is one of the best habits if you use an AI chat regularly.
- Check whether the message contains personal or company data.
- Remove names, addresses, identification numbers, and signatures.
- Replace specific amounts, account numbers, and contractor details with placeholders.
- Think about whether you can describe the problem in general terms.
- Make sure you are not pasting passwords, tokens, or access codes.
- If you are using it for work, check your company's AI policy.
This short procedure significantly improves AI security in everyday use. Over time, it becomes a habit and does not slow you down. On the contrary, it helps you create better prompts because it forces precision and organization of information.
The most common mistake, convenience wins over common sense
The riskiest situations usually do not come from bad intentions. They come from haste. Someone wants to quickly summarize a contract, improve an email to a client, explain a test result, or get their notes organized again, and without thinking copies everything into the AI chat. Later it turns out that the content included third-party data, confidential cooperation terms, or fragments that should never have left the organization.
If you want to use AI wisely, think of it as a very helpful tool, but not a safe. An AI assistant can improve your work, inspire you, suggest structure, and save time. However, it should not become a place for storing sensitive content. That is the difference between convenience and mature use of technology.
Summary, use AI, but with a safety filter
What should not be pasted into an AI chat? Above all, personal data, passwords, access codes, full contracts, confidential documents, sensitive health information, and financial details. Instead, use anonymization, data minimization, and prompts based on describing the problem rather than copying entire content.
Artificial intelligence is very useful, but AI security starts with you. You decide what you enter, what you remove, and how you phrase the question. The better you learn to write safe prompts, the more benefits the AI chat will bring you, without unnecessary risk to privacy and data.
If you want to build practical AI skills, start with simple rules, test safe patterns, and use trusted educational materials. That is the best way to make the AI assistant a support rather than a source of problems.
Sources
- NIST, Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework, 2023.
- OWASP, Top 10 for Large Language Model Applications, 2025.
- European Commission, Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, 2019.
- ENISA, Cybersecurity of AI and Standardisation, 2023.
- ICO, AI and data protection guidance, 2024.
FAQ
Can I paste a CV with full details into an AI chat?
Better not. It is safer to remove the address, phone number, and other identifying details, and ask AI to improve the style, structure, and professional summary instead.
Is an AI chat suitable for contract analysis?
It can help with a checklist and with explaining terms, but it is not worth pasting a full contract with parties' data and confidential terms. First anonymize the document or describe the issue in general terms.
Can I give AI a password so it can assess it?
No. Never enter a real password into an AI chat. If you want to check password quality, use a fictional example or ask for general rules for creating strong passwords.
How do I create safe prompts for work?
It is best to use data minimization, placeholders such as [NAME] and [COMPANY], and describe the task goal instead of copying full documents. That way, artificial intelligence still helps, and the risk is much smaller.
