Lesson 3 / 6 · 6 min read
What never to paste into AI
In short
Never put information that identifies a person (a name together with phone, address, Aadhaar, PAN or bank account) or that gives access to money (passwords, OTPs) into general AI tools. Remove names and numbers first. India's data-protection law also expects businesses to handle personal data with care.
Pasting things into an AI tool is effortless: a customer’s full complaint, an employee’s salary slip, a bank statement. The job gets done quickly. One question often gets skipped: where does this information go now?
This lesson is general information, not legal advice.
Never paste
- Identifying information: a customer’s or employee’s name together with phone number, address, Aadhaar or PAN.
- Anything that unlocks money: bank account numbers, UPI PINs, passwords, OTPs.
- Staff personal data: salaries, health, family details.
- Your business secrets: special price lists, a major customer’s full contract. Your call, but think first.
Get the work done, keep the data safe
You don’t need to stop using AI. Just clean the input:
- Remove names and numbers. Instead of “Ramesh ji, 98xxxxxx, Street 4”, write “Customer A”.
- Share only what’s needed. Not the whole statement, just the part you have a question about.
- Check the settings. Many tools let you switch off chat history and “use my data to improve the model”.
- Keep business and personal accounts separate. Don’t do office work from a personal AI account.
An example (illustrative)
In a Sahibabad unit, an office assistant pastes the list of customers with outstanding payments, with names, phone numbers and amounts, into an AI tool to draft reminders. The reminders came out fine, but the full customer list reached an outside tool. The same job works just as well with “Customer A, B, C” and no phone numbers.
What the law says (general information)
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 applies here. In plain terms, it expects businesses to use people’s personal data only with consent and for the purpose it was given, and to keep it secure. For which obligations apply to your business and from when, speak to your lawyer or CA.
The examples in this lesson are illustrative, based on the kind of businesses found in industrial clusters like Sahibabad. They will be replaced with real, anonymised examples from Svadrishti's field diagnostics.
Try this week
Spend 10 minutes with your team: who puts what into which AI tool? Write a 'never' list (Aadhaar, PAN, bank details, passwords, OTPs, full customer details) and put it up where everyone can see it.
Common questions
What if someone already pasted something sensitive?
Delete that chat and turn off history in the tool's settings. If a password or OTP was shared, change it immediately. If bank details were involved, inform your bank.
Are paid AI tools safe?
Many paid and business plans offer an option not to use your data for training, but every tool differs. Read the privacy settings and terms; when in doubt, leave the information out.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is general information. For how the law applies to your business, speak to your lawyer or CA.