OpenAI health feature sparks data privacy concerns

OpenAI has launched a new ChatGPT Health feature allowing users to connect medical records and wellness data.

The company said the tool is designed to support care and help users understand health information rather than diagnose conditions.

OpenAI said health conversations are encrypted, stored separately from other chats and excluded from model training.

The feature will provide general factual information and direct users to healthcare professionals for higher-risk queries.

Privacy advocates warned that health data shared with AI platforms often falls outside existing US medical privacy laws.

Health data is uniquely sensitive, and self-policed safeguards are simply not enough.

J.B. Branch said.

Experts said many users mistakenly assume all health-related data is legally protected regardless of who holds it.

The same protections do not apply to AI companies.

Andrew Crawford said.

The rollout follows OpenAI’s disclosure that more than one million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.

Critics said the feature highlights gaps in federal privacy laws governing health data held by technology firms.

OpenAI said ChatGPT Health will initially be available to a limited group of users.

The waitlist is open to users outside the European Union and the UK, with wider access planned soon.