AI tool privacy · Perplexity AI
Perplexity and your company’s data
By David Michaelson, MS Last checked October 23, 2026
The short answer
Perplexity says Enterprise data is never used for AI training; on Free, Pro, and Max, the “AI data retention” setting is on by default, so your data may be used for AI training until you turn it off.
Safer setup: Use Perplexity Enterprise for work. On a personal plan, turn off the “AI data retention” toggle under Account settings > Preferences.
Plan by plan
Each answer comes from Perplexity AI’s own policy or help pages, with the link and the date we read it. Setting names are quoted exactly as Perplexity AI writes them.
We could not confirm 3 answers on Perplexity AI’s own pages. Those answers say so in plain words and link to the page we checked.
| Question | Free, Pro, and Max | Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max |
|---|---|---|
| Trains on your data by default? | Yes, by default. Perplexity says “AI Data Retention is enabled by default” on these plans. Turn off the “AI data retention” toggle to opt out. Data collected before you opt out cannot be removed from training. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai | No. Perplexity says Enterprise data is never used to train or fine-tune its models, and its agreements with outside AI providers prohibit them from training on your data. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai |
| How long your data is kept | Perplexity says it keeps personal data only as long as needed for the purposes in its privacy notice, unless the law requires or permits longer. It gives no set number of days. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai | Files attached to sessions are deleted after 7 days. The sessions themselves stay unless deleted. Organizations with 50 or more seats, or at least one Enterprise Max user, can set a session retention period. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai |
| Who can see it | Not described on the pages we read. Page checked: perplexity.ai, October 23, 2026 | Not described on the pages we read. Perplexity says admins manage file, sharing, and connector permissions, but not whether they can read members’ threads. Page checked: perplexity.ai, October 23, 2026 |
| Where data is stored | Perplexity says it sends data between its affiliates and may process your data in a country with weaker privacy laws than yours. It does not name the countries. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai | Not stated on the pages we read. Page checked: perplexity.ai, October 23, 2026 |
| How to delete | To delete your account and data, cancel any subscription first, then go to perplexity.ai/account/details and select “Delete account” at the bottom of the page. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai | Admins of eligible organizations can set a retention period. Sessions older than that period become inaccessible at once and are permanently deleted within 7 days. Read on October 23, 2026 Source: perplexity.ai |
Safer setup, step by step
- On Free, Pro, or Max, open Account settings > Preferences and turn off the “AI data retention” toggle. Perplexity says opting out applies only to data collected after that date. Source: perplexity.ai for this step
- For a team, use Perplexity Enterprise. Perplexity says Enterprise data is never used for AI training. Source: perplexity.ai for this step
- Enterprise organizations with 50 or more seats, or at least one Enterprise Max user, can set a session retention period under Organization Settings > Data and privacy. Source: perplexity.ai for this step
What to write in your policy
Staff may use Perplexity for work only through our company Enterprise account. Customer data never goes into a personal Perplexity account.
Building your own approved tools list? The SafeStart Handbook includes one, with company accounts and safer privacy settings.