Your Friends Could Be Sharing Your Phone Number with ChatGPT

Source: Slashdot

ChatGPT is getting more social, reports PC Magazine, with a new feature that allows you to sync your contacts to see if any of your friends are using the chatbot or any other OpenAI product.

Contact Sync Feature

OpenAI says the sync is “completely optional.” However, even if you don’t opt in, anyone who has your number and syncs their contacts is effectively sharing your digits with OpenAI. As the company explains, “OpenAI may process your phone number if someone you know has your phone number saved in their device’s address book and chooses to upload their contacts.” Source

Privacy Implications

OpenAI claims it will not store the full data that might appear in your contact list—such as names or email addresses—only the phone numbers. The numbers are stored on OpenAI’s servers in a coded (hashed) format, and you can revoke access in your device’s settings.

Potential Uses

Why would you follow someone on ChatGPT? Reports dating back to April suggest OpenAI is building a social network (The Verge). While we haven’t seen much progress beyond the Sora generative video app—which exists outside of ChatGPT—contact sharing could be the first step toward a larger evolution for the world’s most popular chatbot.

ChatGPT also supports group chats (PCMag) that let up to 20 people discuss and research something using the chatbot. Syncing contacts could make it easier to invite people to these chats.