Proton AI Paper Trail shows what chatbots may know about you

Proton has launched AI Paper Trail, a tool designed to show users what AI chatbots may infer from their conversation history. The service analyses exported data from ChatGPT and Claude and creates a report on the personal details that may appear across past chats.

The Swiss privacy company says a single AI prompt may reveal little on its own. However, weeks or months of conversations can create a detailed picture of a user’s habits, interests, work, relationships and concerns.

AI Paper Trail currently supports exports from OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Proton says it plans to add support for more AI platforms later.

Tool creates a privacy profile from chat exports

To use AI Paper Trail, users export their conversation data from ChatGPT or Claude and upload the file to Proton’s tool.

The service then analyses the content and generates a personal privacy report. Proton says the report outlines what the AI platform may know about the user based on their conversations.

The report includes a Privacy Type, which categorises a person according to their approach to data privacy. It also gives users an AI Exposure Score that reflects the number of extracted data points and how revealing those details may be.

AI Paper Trail also estimates the dollar value of the user’s personal data to an AI platform. Proton has not publicly explained the exact method it uses to calculate the exposure score or estimated value.

Chat histories can reveal sensitive details

People often use AI chatbots for far more than simple questions. They may draft work emails, discuss health or relationship concerns, upload documents, plan trips or ask for advice they would not search for publicly.

Over time, those interactions may expose direct identifiers such as names, email addresses, locations and personal circumstances. They can also reveal behavioural information, including how often a person uses AI tools, the kinds of tasks they complete and the features they rely on.

Uploaded documents and files may add further private information to a user’s AI history. Proton says AI Paper Trail aims to make these privacy risks easier to understand.

Proton promises to delete uploaded data

Proton says it deletes uploaded ChatGPT and Claude export files as soon as the analysis is complete. The company also says it does not store the files on its servers.

The tool allows users to create shareable reports. Proton says these reports can help people discuss AI privacy risks with friends, family and colleagues.

Users should still consider carefully before uploading any sensitive archive to a third-party service. They should also review what their AI export includes before sharing it.

Conclusion

AI Paper Trail gives ChatGPT and Claude users a practical way to see how their conversation history may build a detailed personal profile. The tool highlights why users should treat long-term AI chat histories as sensitive data.