An AI Privacy Fail Every Educator Should Know About

Author

Merissa Sadler-Holder
August 05, 2026

What does "Share" mean in the age of AI?

Last week, Claude users were surprised to learn that some conversations they'd shared were showing up in search engine results like Google.

The conversations people found included things like:

↳Crypto wallet keys.
↳Lawyers asking if they need to self-report a breach of conduct.
↳Internal business documents.
↳Personal résumés with names and contact information.
↳Medical information.
↳And countless deeply personal conversations. 👀🌶️

You can read the original Reddit thread where this was first discovered, along with coverage from BBC (7/28/26).

The reality is that sharing a link with someone ≠ private between you and them.
Once that link is posted anywhere public, it can behave exactly like a public webpage: crawlable, indexable, and permanent.

And this isn't new. It happened before in 2025. Forbes reported a nearly identical issue back in September 2025.

We're having to redefine what words like "share" actually mean.

For years, we've taught students how to share a Google Doc, etc.

But AI tools introduce new questions:

↳What happens when you click Share?
↳Who can actually see it?
↳Can it be indexed by search engines?
↳What information should never be entered into an AI chatbot in the first place?
↳Who has access to it?

And the simple fact is that many of our students are already using AI every day. But very few are being explicitly taught how to use it.

We need to teach students that technology is never perfect. We need to equip students with judgement to make smart decisions before they click send and share.

Remember to always review privacy settings in the AI tools you use, check to see if you have any shared conversations, and remind yourself and your students that if something is sensitive, it doesn't belong in an AI chatbot.

In Claude, for example, that's Settings > Privacy > Shared chats.

We don't need every educator to become an AI expert.
We do need to make sure they don't have to navigate this alone.

If you're looking for a thought partner as you navigate these AI waters, just hit reply to email me directly or pick a time to grab virtual coffee with me. Helping educators and school leaders make sense of AI is my favorite kind of conversation.

Need meaningful AI professional development through the Teaching with Machines Learning Journeys for your staff and teachers?

We got this!

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I love reading your feedback, it helps me design effective solutions for others. I respond to all my emails. Just hit reply to this email. Rooting for you and your students! Love, M.

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