How long does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) keep data after you delete it?

Within 30 days (policy-violation flags: up to 2 years; scores up to 7 years). Deleted chats are not used for future training. Source: privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) have a temporary or incognito chat?

Yes: Incognito chats. Ghost icon on a new chat (outside projects). Not saved to history or memory, not used for training, kept 30 days. Source: privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training (checked Oct 17, 2026), support.claude.com/en/articles/12260368-use-incognito-chats (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Where does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) store your data?

US and other countries (no consumer region choice stated). Source: anthropic.com/legal/privacy (checked Oct 17, 2026).

How do I turn off AI training in Claude (Free / Pro / Max)?

Turn off "Help improve our AI models" in Privacy settings. Web and desktop: Select your name from your settings menu and click the drop down button. Select Settings. Select Privacy. Under Help Improve our AI models, toggle it off.

Does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) train on your data?

Q: Does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) train on your data by default?

You choose at signup. Since the Aug 28 2025 consumer-terms update, Free/Pro/Max users must choose whether chats are used for training, at signup or in a required pop-up. Anthropic's pages checked do not say which position the toggle starts in. Chats flagged for safety review can be used for safety-classifier training regardless. Source: anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms (checked Oct 17, 2026), privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Q: Can you turn off AI training in Claude (Free / Pro / Max)?

Yes. Settings > Privacy > "Help improve our AI models" toggle. Turning it off stops future training on new and stored chats, but data already in training runs or trained models stays. Source: privacy.claude.com/en/articles/12109829-how-do-i-change-my-model-improvement-privacy-settings (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Q: How long does Claude (Free / Pro / Max) keep your data?

30 days after deletion; up to 5 years if training is on. Training off: deleted chats leave back-end storage within 30 days. Training on: de-identified data may stay in training pipelines up to 5 years. Feedback (thumbs) kept 5 years. Source: privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Q: Do people at Anthropic review Claude (Free / Pro / Max) chats?

Only for feedback you send or Usage Policy enforcement. Employees cannot access conversations by default. Exceptions: you share them via feedback, or Trust & Safety review is needed. Source: privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10458704-how-does-anthropic-protect-the-personal-data-of-claude-users (checked Oct 17, 2026).

Personal plan Anthropic · Assistant · Last verified Oct 17, 2026

You choose at signup

You choose at signup whether your chats are used for training.

Short answer: You choose at signup

Since the Aug 28 2025 consumer-terms update, Free/Pro/Max users must choose whether chats are used for training, at signup or in a required pop-up. Anthropic's pages checked do not say which position the toggle starts in. Chats flagged for safety review can be used for safety-classifier training regardless.

Source: anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms, anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms, privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training

Why this matters: You make this choice yourself, so check your Privacy setting before pasting work data. Training can't be undone later. Why training matters →

7 of 13 fields confirmed from vendor pages·How to turn off training ↓

Covers: Free, Pro, Max. Compliance fields (SOC 2, ISO, DPA, BAA) have not been checked yet for personal plans.

Personal vs business plan

The same assistant can have different data terms depending on the plan. Here is Claude (Free / Pro / Max) next to Claude for Work (Team / Enterprise).

What we checked	Personal Claude (Free / Pro / Max)	Business Claude for Work (Team / Enterprise)
Trains on your data by default	You choose at signup	No
Data retention	30 days after deletion; up to 5 years if training is on	Unknown
Data location / residency	US and other countries (no consumer region choice stated)	Unknown
SOC 2 Type II	Not checked yet	Yes
DPA available	Not checked yet	Yes
BAA / HIPAA	Not checked yet	Yes

See the business plan: Claude for Work (Team / Enterprise) → Full side-by-side comparison

Summary of Anthropic's public pages as of Oct 17, 2026. Not legal advice: terms vary by plan and contract and can change. Confirm with Anthropic before relying on it.

Trains on your data by default

You choose at signup

Source:

anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms · checked Oct 17, 2026
“If you’re a new user, you can select your preference in the signup process.”
anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms · checked Oct 17, 2026
“After October 8, you’ll need to make your selection on the model training setting in order to continue using Claude.”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Your conversations are flagged for safety review (in which case we may use or analyze them to improve our ability to detect and enforce our Usage Policy, including training models for use by our Safeguards team, consistent with Anthropic’s safety mission)”

Can you turn training off?

Yes

Settings > Privacy > "Help improve our AI models" toggle. Turning it off stops future training on new and stored chats, but data already in training runs or trained models stays.

Source:

privacy.claude.com/en/articles/12109829-how-do-i-change-my-model-improvement-privacy-settings · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Under Help Improve our AI models, click the button to toggle it off/on”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/12109829-how-do-i-change-my-model-improvement-privacy-settings · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Your data will still be included in model training that has already started and in models that have already been trained, but we will stop using your previously stored chats and coding sessions in future model training runs.”

Data retention

30 days after deletion; up to 5 years if training is on

Training off: deleted chats leave back-end storage within 30 days. Training on: de-identified data may stay in training pipelines up to 5 years. Feedback (thumbs) kept 5 years.

Source:

privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Deleted from our back-end storage systems within 30 days”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data · checked Oct 17, 2026
“If you allow us to use your chats or coding sessions to improve Claude, we may retain your data in a de-identified format for up to 5 years in our model training pipelines.”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data · checked Oct 17, 2026
“we retain data associated with that submission for 5 years.”

Retention after you delete

Within 30 days (policy-violation flags: up to 2 years; scores up to 7 years)

Deleted chats are not used for future training.

Source:

privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data · checked Oct 17, 2026
“We retain inputs and outputs for up to 2 years and trust and safety classification scores for up to 7 years if your chat or session is flagged by our automated trust and safety systems as violating our Usage Policy.”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023548-how-long-do-you-store-my-data · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Additionally, if you delete a chat from your chat history, it will not be used to train future models.”

Human review of chats

Only for feedback you send or Usage Policy enforcement

Employees cannot access conversations by default. Exceptions: you share them via feedback, or Trust & Safety review is needed.

Source:

privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10458704-how-does-anthropic-protect-the-personal-data-of-claude-users · checked Oct 17, 2026
“By default, Anthropic employees cannot access your conversations unless:”
privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10458704-how-does-anthropic-protect-the-personal-data-of-claude-users · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Review is needed to enforce our Usage Policy. In such cases, your conversation data is protected through strict access controls– only designated members of our Trust & Safety team may access this data on a need-to-know basis as a part of their evaluation process.”

Temporary / incognito chat

Yes: Incognito chats

Ghost icon on a new chat (outside projects). Not saved to history or memory, not used for training, kept 30 days.

Source:

privacy.claude.com/en/articles/10023580-is-my-data-used-for-model-training · checked Oct 17, 2026
“Your Incognito chats are not used to improve Claude, even if you have enabled Model Improvement in your Privacy Settings.”
support.claude.com/en/articles/12260368-use-incognito-chats · checked Oct 17, 2026
“While incognito chats aren't saved to your chat history, they are retained for either 30 days (default), or longer in accordance with your organization's custom data retention setting (available for Enterprise plans).”

Data location

US and other countries (no consumer region choice stated)

Source:

anthropic.com/legal/privacy · checked Oct 17, 2026
“your personal data is transferred to our servers in the US, or to other countries outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and the UK”