AI tool privacy · Anthropic
Claude and your company’s data
By David Michaelson, MS Last checked October 23, 2026
The short answer
Claude Team and Enterprise do not train on your chats by default; on Free, Pro, and Max, Anthropic uses your chats to improve Claude only if you allow it, and keeps them up to 5 years if you do.
Safer setup: Use a Claude Team or Enterprise plan for work. On a personal plan, check the model improvement setting under Settings > Privacy and keep it off for work chats.
Plan by plan
Each answer comes from Anthropic’s own policy or help pages, with the link and the date we read it. Setting names are quoted exactly as Anthropic writes them.
We could not confirm 2 answers on Anthropic’s own pages. Those answers say so in plain words and link to the page we checked.
| Question | Free, Pro, and Max | Team and Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Trains on your data by default? | Only if you allow it. Anthropic says it uses your chats to improve its models if you choose to allow it, if a chat is flagged for safety review, or if you opt in another way. The setting is under Settings > Privacy, “Help Improve our AI models.” Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com | No, not by default. Anthropic says it does not train on inputs or outputs from its commercial products. If someone sends thumbs up or down feedback, that conversation may be used. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com |
| How long your data is kept | Deleted chats leave your history at once and are deleted from back-end storage within 30 days. If you allow model improvement, Anthropic may keep de-identified data for up to 5 years. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com | Chats are kept in the product so people can continue them. Deleted chats leave the history at once and are deleted from back-end storage within 30 days. Chats flagged for a policy violation may be kept up to 2 years. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com |
| Who can see it | Not described on the pages we read. Page checked: privacy.claude.com, October 23, 2026 | Your organization’s Primary Owner manages the work account and its data, and can export data that may include members’ conversations and uploaded files. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com |
| Where data is stored | Anthropic says your personal data is transferred to its servers in the US, or to other countries outside the EEA and the UK. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: anthropic.com | Not stated for Team or Enterprise on the pages we read. Anthropic points to its Trust Center, which we have not checked. Page checked: privacy.claude.com, October 23, 2026 |
| How to delete | Open the chat, click its name at the top of the screen, and select Delete. To delete several, open Recents, check the chats, and click “Delete Selected.” Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.anthropic.com | Same steps as the personal plans: open the chat, click its name, and select Delete. Deleted chats are removed from back-end storage within 30 days. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: privacy.claude.com |
Safer setup, step by step
- On a personal plan, open Settings > Privacy and check the toggle under “Help Improve our AI models.” Source: privacy.claude.com for this step
- Use Incognito chats for one-off questions. Anthropic says they are not used to improve Claude, even with model improvement on. Source: privacy.claude.com for this step
- On Team or Enterprise, an Owner can turn off the “Rate chats” setting under Organization settings > Data and Privacy, so thumbs up or down feedback is not sent. Source: privacy.claude.com for this step
What to write in your policy
Staff may use Claude for work only through our company Team or Enterprise plan. Customer data never goes into a personal Claude account.
Building your own approved tools list? The SafeStart Handbook includes one, with company accounts and safer privacy settings.