Lesson 5 of 6
Keep your money data private
5 min read
It's tempting to paste your whole bank statement in and ask "what can I cut?" But where does that data go once you hit send?
Treat the chat like a postcard
Whatever you type into an AI can be stored — kept in your history, saved to memory, and, depending on your settings, used to help train future models. So never paste the things that unlock your money: full account numbers, card numbers, PINs, passwords, one-time codes, or a complete statement with your details on it.
Assume anything you paste could be kept. The account number you didn't share can't leak.
Share the shape, not the secrets
You rarely need the sensitive bits for AI to help. Redact first: swap the account number for "my current account", drop your name and address, round the figures. "I spend about €400 a month on food" gets the same advice as a full itemised statement — without handing over anything that identifies you.
Give AI the pattern, not the identifiers. It can explain and organize just as well from anonymized numbers.
Check your AI's data settings: turn off training on your chats if you can, and use a temporary chat for anything sensitive so nothing is saved.
The shape of it
- —Anything you paste may be stored or used to train — treat it as public.
- —Never share account or card numbers, PINs, passwords, codes, or full statements.
- —Redact to the pattern — anonymized figures get you the same help.
You want budgeting help. What's safe to paste into a chatbot?
Continue in the app
Take the whole AI for Personal Finance course — tracked
Get your personalized path, progress and streaks in the app — this lesson and every next one, in order.