Module 4 · Career, projects and honesty Lesson 13 of 15
Ethics, privacy and what never to paste
These tools send what you type to somebody else's computer and keep it in a history. Never paste passwords, government ID numbers, bank or card details, medical records, or another person's private data — and never paste a company's confidential document.
The concept
There is no version of this tool where your text stays on your laptop. Everything you type is sent to a server, kept in a history you can usually see, and may be reviewed or used to improve the product depending on the plan.
An unpublished report, a client contract or an internal policy does not go into a personal account, however convenient the window size makes it. Ask whether there is a work account before you ask whether it is allowed.
The practical rule for a fresher: replace the real thing with a stand-in. "Client A", "my friend's phone number", "the amount in the offer letter". The tool rarely needs the real value to do the work, and the stand-in costs you nothing.
And the professional rule: if the document has "confidential" on it, the answer is your employer's approved account or nothing. If your employer has an approved plan or a policy, that policy is the answer, not your judgement about how sensitive a file really is.
Worked example
Long documents are exactly the material people assume is safe to paste, and exactly the material that usually belongs to somebody else.
Your practice task
Go through your last five conversations and delete anything containing a real phone number, a client name, or a document you did not write. If you cannot find the delete button, that is the lesson.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
There is no version of this tool where your text stays on your laptop.
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