Key insights
- All analyzed AI chatbot apps collect some form of user data. The average number of collected data types is 14 out of a possible 35. As much as 70% of the apps collect users' locations. Meta AI still collects the most user data among the analyzed apps, gathering 33 out of 35 possible data types — nearly 95% of the total. It remains the only app that collects data across the financial information category. Meta AI, alongside Google Gemini, also collects sensitive information, which includes racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data.¹
- Google Gemini collects 23 unique data types. This includes precise location data, which only Gemini, Meta AI, Copilot, and Perplexity collect. Gemini also collects a significant amount of data across various other categories, such as contact info (name, email address, phone number, etc.), user content, contacts, search history, browsing history, and several other types of data. This extensive data collection may be seen as excessive and intrusive by those concerned about data privacy and security.
- According to the Apple App Store, ChatGPT may now collect 17 out of 35 data types, according to the developers. This represents a 70% increase from the 10 data types identified in last year's AI chatbots review¹, indicating a notable broadening in the extent of user data collection. The additional data types now collected include coarse location, health and fitness, search history, audio data, advertising data, and customer support.
- Most of the data types collected by ChatGPT (14) are intended for app functionality. However, the user information may also be used for other purposes, including analytics (7), product personalization (4), developer’s advertising or marketing (3), and third-party advertising (2). Notably, health and fitness data, as well as advertising data, are not required for app functionality.
- In contrast, Claude's data collection practices have remained unchanged. It may collect 13 out of 35 data types, each of which is crucial for app functionality. These data types support activities such as authenticating users, enabling features, preventing fraud, implementing security measures, maintaining server uptime, reducing app crashes, improving scalability and performance, and delivering customer support.²
- However, many of the data types collected by Claude may also be used for other purposes, such as analytics (10) and developer’s advertising or marketing (7), indicating a fairly extensive exploitation of user data. This includes data like user coarse location or content such as photos or videos. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude does not specify that data is used for product personalization or third-party advertising.
- DeepSeek collects 13 unique types of data, such as coarse location and search history, and claims to retain information for as long as necessary, storing it on servers located in the People's Republic of China².
- Don't let your guard down, as chats stored on servers are always at risk of being breached. According to The Hacker News³, DeepSeek has already experienced a breach where more than 1 million records of chat history, API keys, and other information were leaked. It is generally a good idea to be mindful of the information provided.
Methodology and sources
Surfshark reviewed the privacy details on the Apple App Store for a list of previously identified 10 most AI chatbots⁵ ⁶, which, as of May 20, 2025, also included Meta AI. The comparison was based on the number of data types each app collects. Surfshark also checked the privacy policies of DeepSeek³ and ChatGPT⁴ to better understand what kind of data is kept on servers and for how long.
For the complete research material behind this study, visit here.
Data was collected from:
References:
¹ Apple. App privacy details on the App Store.
²DeepSeek Privacy Policy.
³ The Hacker News (2025). DeepSeek AI Database Exposed: Over 1 Million Log Lines, Secret Keys Leaked.
⁴ OpenAI Privacy policy.
⁵ Tom's Guide (2025). The best ChatGPT alternatives I've tested.
⁶ TechTarget (2025). The best AI chatbots for 2025: Compare features and costs.
Note: Originally published on Surfshark and republished here with permission.
Reviewed by Ayaz Khan.
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