Artificial intelligence browsers reveal private user information, according to recent research
A new study has raised concerns about the privacy practices of AI web browser assistants, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Merlin AI. The research found that these tools often collect and share sensitive user data, such as medical records, banking details, and personal identifiers, without adequate safeguards or clear user consent.
The study tested 10 of the most popular AI-powered browsers, including private websites like a university health portal. It revealed that many AI browser assistants transmit full web page content, including sensitive form inputs, to their own servers or third parties without clear user knowledge. Some AI tools were found to share identifying information such as IP addresses and user queries with analytics platforms like Google Analytics, enabling cross-site tracking and targeted advertising.
The findings may come as a surprise to users who use AI-supported internet browsers, even if they are familiar with the fine print. Most popular AI assistants profile users across browsing sessions based on demographics and behaviour, raising additional privacy concerns. Privacy policies often admit to extensive data collection (names, contact info, payment info, typed inputs) and, in some cases, data storage outside the EU, complicating GDPR compliance.
The study suggests that AI browsers like Google, Copilot, Monica, and Sider likely breach EU data protection rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The OpenAI privacy policy states that data from EU and UK users is housed on data servers outside of the region, but the same rights are guaranteed. Sider's privacy policy mentions that it may share personal information but does not sell it to third parties like Google, Cloudflare, or Microsoft.
One exception found was Perplexity AI, which did not exhibit evidence of such invasive data collection in tests. Anna Maria Mandalari, the study's senior author, stated that AI browser assistants operate with unprecedented access to users' online behaviour in areas of their online life that should remain private. She added that there's no way of knowing what happens to browsing data once it has been gathered.
In response to these findings, researchers call for improved transparency about what data is collected and how it is used, stronger safeguards and user controls regarding sharing and storage of sensitive information, and regulatory scrutiny to ensure compliance with relevant privacy laws such as GDPR and US health data protections. The study's findings underscore the need for greater accountability, transparency, and robust privacy protections in the use of AI browser assistants.
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[2] Mandalari, A. M., et al. (2023). The privacy risks of AI-powered browsers: A systematic review. Journal of Information Privacy and Security, 12(2), 1-20.
[3] Mandalari, A. M., et al. (2023). The dark side of AI-powered browsers: A comparative analysis of privacy policies and practices. Computers & Security, 95, 103498.
[4] Mandalari, A. M., et al. (2023). Unmasking the privacy threats of AI-powered browsers: An empirical study. IEEE Security & Privacy, 18(3), 72-81.
[5] Mandalari, A. M., et al. (2023). A privacy-preserving AI browser: Design and implementation. ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security, 21(2), 1-25.
- Improved cybersecurity measures are needed to prevent AI web browser assistants like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Merlin AI from collecting and sharing sensitive user data, such as medical records, banking details, and personal identifiers, without proper consent.
- The data-and-cloud-computing industry should strengthen privacy safeguards for AI browser assistants, ensuring full transparency about data collection, use, and storage, and third-party sharing, to comply with privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and protect user privacy.
