{"id":3817,"date":"2025-08-21T13:15:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/hundreds-of-thousands-of-grok-chats-exposed-in-google-results\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T13:15:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:15:26","slug":"hundreds-of-thousands-of-grok-chats-exposed-in-google-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/hundreds-of-thousands-of-grok-chats-exposed-in-google-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-801dd632-0 eSlECZ\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-1 eeJXtz\"><time datetime=\"2025-08-21T12:55:28.633Z\" class=\"sc-801dd632-2 IvNnh\">11 minutes ago<\/time><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-801dd632-12 jSIeFi\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-5 kRoBHa\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-801dd632-7 lasLGY\">Liv McMahon<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Technology reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 kVRMhO\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-d1200759-1 kycbVO\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7753nQ.png\" class=\"sc-d1200759-0 dkIvM hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7849\/live\/086fde10-7e83-11f0-9e05-3dbec5559644.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images Grok logo displayed on a smartphone, with it's logo shown on a blurred, larger backdrop behind it. \" class=\"sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj\"><span class=\"sc-d1200759-2 gwFzuU\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"20\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Hundreds of thousands of user conversations with Elon Musk&#8217;s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok have been exposed in search engine results &#8211; seemingly without users&#8217; knowledge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Unique links are created when Grok users press a button to share a transcript of their conversation &#8211; but as well as sharing the chat with the intended recipient, the button also appears to have made the chats searchable online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A Google search on Thursday revealed it had indexed nearly 300,000 Grok conversations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">It has led one expert to describe AI chatbots as a &#8220;privacy disaster in progress&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The BBC has approached X for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"35.664302600473\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The appearance of Grok chats in search engine results was first reported by tech industry publication Forbes, which counted more than 370,000 user conversations on Google.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Among chat transcripts seen by the BBC were examples of Musk&#8217;s chatbot being asked to create a secure password, provide meal plans for weight loss and answer detailed questions about medical conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Some indexed transcripts also showed users&#8217; attempts to test the limits on what Grok would say or do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">In one example seen by the BBC, the chatbot provided detailed instructions on how to make a Class A drug in a lab.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">It is not the first time that peoples&#8217; conversations with AI chatbots have appeared more widely than they perhaps initially realised when using &#8220;share&#8221; functions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">OpenAI recently rowed back an &#8220;experiment&#8221; which saw ChatGPT conversations appear in search engine results when shared by users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A spokesperson told BBC News at the time it had been &#8220;testing ways to make it easier to share helpful conversations, while keeping users in control&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">They said user chats were private by default and users had to explicitly opt-in to sharing them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Earlier this year, Meta faced criticism after shared users conversations with its chatbot Meta AI appeared in a public &#8220;discover&#8221; feed on its app.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 eOFjmw\">&#8216;Privacy disaster&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"38\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">While users&#8217; account details may be anonymised or obscured in shared chatbot transcripts, their prompts may still contain &#8211; and risk revealing &#8211; personal, sensitive information about someone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Experts say this highlights mounting concerns over users&#8217; privacy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">\u201cAI chatbots are a privacy disaster in progress,\u201d Prof Luc Rocher, associate professor at the Oxford Internet Institute, told the BBC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">They said &#8220;leaked conversations&#8221; from chatbots have divulged user information ranging from full names and location, to sensitive details about their mental health, business operations or relationships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Once leaked online, these conversations will stay there forever,&#8221; they added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Meanwhile Carissa Veliz, associate professor in philosophy at Oxford University&#8217;s Institute for Ethics in AI, said users not being told shared chats would appear in search results is &#8220;problematic&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Our technology doesn&#8217;t even tell us what it&#8217;s doing with our data, and that&#8217;s a problem,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dFZIgd\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-d1200759-1 kycbVO\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7753nQ.png\" class=\"sc-d1200759-0 dkIvM hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A green promotional banner with black squares and rectangles forming pixels, moving in from the right. The text says: \u201cTech Decoded: The world\u2019s biggest tech news in your inbox every Monday.\u201d\" class=\"sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Published at Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:55:28 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results 11 minutes ago Liv McMahon Technology reporter Getty Images Hundreds of thousands of user conversations with Elon Musk&#8217;s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok have been exposed in search engine results &#8211; seemingly without users&#8217; knowledge. Unique links are created when Grok users press a button&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/hundreds-of-thousands-of-grok-chats-exposed-in-google-results\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}