--- title: "ChatGPT Bug Accidentally Revealed Users’ Chat Histories, Email Addresses, and Phone Numbers" description: "OpenAI's ChatGPT was down last night due to a glitch that made chat histories publicly visible, while another bug may have also compromised user emails." date: "2023-03-21" modified: "2023-03-21" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-bug-chat-histories-email-phone" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "ai" - "cybersecurity" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # ChatGPT Bug Accidentally Revealed Users’ Chat Histories, Email Addresses, and Phone Numbers ![OpenAI's ChatGPT was down last night due to a glitch that made chat histories publicly visible, while another bug may have also compromised user emails.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## That's Bad OpenAI's ChatGPT was down for some time yesterday — exactly how long is a little blurry, as reports varied from a [few hours]() to almost the [full day]() — as the company worked to fix a glitch that made user chat histories publicly visible. As anyone who's used the viral app knows, ChatGPT stores users' past conversations in a helpful sidebar. But it seems that after users logged into the app yesterday to discover histories packed with the titles of conversations that [weren't their own](), OpenAI decided that its best move was to shut the app down completely while it worked to fix the issue. As confirmed by OpenAI in a [statement to *Bloomberg*](), the app was brought back online late last night — albeit without the history feature, at least for the time being. "ChatGPT is now back online," an OpenAI spokesperson told *Bloomberg* late last night, "and we are working to bring chat history back online as well." Importantly, only conversation titles were available to other users — not the actual content of those queries. Still, the incident is certainly a reminder that, as OpenAI warns in its [ChatGPT FAQ](), users should refrain from sharing any "sensitive information" in conversations. ## Wait, This is Worse According to some reports, this wasn't the only OpenAI glitch yesterday evening. As [*PCMag* reports](), anyone who might have been attempting to sign up for ChatGPT Plus last night — the OpenAI subscription service that grants paying users access to GPT-4 — might have accidentally found themselves privy to others' personal email addresses and phone numbers. Yikes. "I saw four \[email addresses\] in total before I stopped doing it anymore," one of these ChatGPT Plus hopefuls told *PCMag*, explaining that each time he refreshed the paid tier's payment page, it auto-filled with a different user email. "It was clearly other people's contact information." "On payment page for ChatGPT Plus, it originally stated it had sent an SMS to a number I did not recognize. Then when selecting to send an email instead, it is showing an email address that I have never heard of," someone else who encountered the issue [tweeted](). "Form field is also pre-filled with the unknown email address." This glitch appears to be fixed as well, but altogether, these are some pretty egregious bugs — and again, a reminder that even the folks on the cutting edge of Silicon Valley can struggle to deliver secure software. **READ MORE:** *[OpenAI Shut Down ChatGPT to Fix Bug Exposing User Chat Titles]()* \[*Bloomberg*\] ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()