Guides for US law firms, practices and local governments on using ChatGPT and other AI, from HIPAA to court filings, with client names kept on your computer.
How to delete ChatGPT history on the web, iPhone and Android: one chat or all, archive vs delete, memory, files, shared links, and what OpenAI keeps.
How to remove track changes in Word on Windows, Mac and the web: accept or reject all, turn tracking off, delete every comment, then inspect the file.
Does ChatGPT store images you upload? Yes, and deleting the chat may not delete them. What ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot keep from a photo of an ID.
SSN: 219-09-9999 becomes SSN: [SSN_1]. The IRS mask, what the SSA and state laws say, and how to take an SSN out of a file before AI reads it.
Watermark and redact a driver's license copy in your browser: cover the DD number and signature for a landlord, bank or employer, or for an AI.
Need to anonymize a CSV file? How to mask data in a CSV before an AI assistant reads it, and what LibreOffice .odt, RTF and text files keep out of sight.
Need to anonymize a PowerPoint before AI? Presenter notes, hidden slides, reviewer comments, master text and chart workbooks, and how to clear each on a copy.
Need to anonymize names in Excel before ChatGPT or Copilot? Hidden rows and sheets, comments, SSN columns, PivotTables and the Inspector, step by step.
Need to anonymize a PDF for AI? Upload it, and in seconds names, SSNs and account numbers come back as placeholders. Download as PDF, Word or TXT.
Need to anonymize a Word document for AI? Upload the .docx, and in seconds names, SSNs and client details come back as placeholders. Save as Word, PDF or TXT.
Remove metadata from PDF, Word and photo files before an AI reads them: author, company, dates, template, XMP and GPS, tested on two invented files.
What personal information to remove before AI: the US list. Paste your text and in seconds names and SSNs come back as placeholders, as PDF, Word or TXT.
PHI vs PII in an HR file: why an FMLA note is not PHI, what California calls sensitive personal information, and what to take out before AI sees it.
AI disclosure language for engagement letters: when US bars expect the client to be told, and a clause to paste, with the client data sentence in two versions.
Do you have to disclose AI use in court filings? It depends on the court and the judge. What you may be asked to sign, and what must stay in the firm.
Under US law the same edit has five consequences. Privilege and Rule 1.6 are not about identifiers, and two state breach laws exempt encryption, not masking.
A records request returned thousands of pages of city staff chat logs. What that means for resident data, and which rules actually bind a US agency.
HIPAA compliant AI is not a product you buy. The ChatGPT plans OpenAI will sign a BAA for, the features each excludes, and the 18 HIPAA identifiers.
OpenAI runs two privacy policies at once, and the American one is newer and wider. What it says about sharing, selling, keeping, training and deleting.
On consumer plans a setting you choose decides; on commercial ones the answer is no. The opt out has two written exceptions, and retention runs to seven years.
Copilot is four products with one name, and Microsoft split its consumer documentation on August 18, 2026. Which page applies to you, and what each one says.
Google keeps human reviewed chats for three years after you delete your activity, and says so itself. What the Gemini settings reach, and what they leave alone.
Five carriers, two application forms and a March 2026 court ruling, read: the sublimits, the exclusions, the controls they require, and what they say about AI.