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A screenshot of the chatgpt.com interface that people see when they are not signed in. This contains a text box for someone to ask ChatGPT a question and several starter prompts that people can choose from

ChatGPT 4o-mini

Tool NameDoes it require personal information for signup?Does it protect personal information?Can it be recommended or required for use by students in your course?
ChatGPT 4o-mini by OpenAI No, not for ChatGPT Version 4o-mini No, it will share information entered into the tool outside Canada. Some device data such as IP Address may be stored. Yes, with caution. Students should be instructed on safe use of this tool, because the risk of accidentally entering personal information or intellectual property is high.

INSTRUCT STUDENTS IN SAFE USE: Even though no personal information is required by the tool, students could accidentally enter personal information or intellectual property into the tool. Therefore, instructors must educate students on how to safely use the tool, prior to requiring its use. Instructors can convey the guidance in the “Detailed Guidance” section below to educate about safe use of this tool. Given UBC’s lack of ability to monitor user activities, individual adherence to recommended practices is vital for security. 

About This Tool

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is available from https://chatgpt.com/ as a free version that, as of February 2025, can be accessed without an account. The version available without an account can be referred to as ChatGPT 4o-mini. OpenAI also offer other versions of ChatGPT called ChatGPT 4o, ChatGPT o1, ChatGPT o3, all of which require an account which collects private information, and thus should not be recommended for use within a course. The information on this page is specifically about ChatGPT 4o-mini.

Sample Syllabus Language

Usage of ChatGPT in this Course

In this course, you will use OpenAI’s generative AI tool, ChatGPT version 4o-mini.

Because ChatGPT uses global data centres there is a high likelihood of data being shared or stored outside of Canada. To better protect your data and privacy, please follow these practices: 

  • Do not log in to ChatGPT. Ignore the login/signup buttons in the sidebar. ChatGPT version 4o-mini does not require login.
  • Do not enter personal or private information, or information you do not own such as PDFs of others’ public work. Do not share any information that you would not publish on the internet. Anything you enter may be shared as results to other users.
  • Opt out of the ‘Improve the model for everyone’ setting by clicking the small grey question mark in the lower right hand corner and then select settings from the menu that pops up. Un-select “improve model for everyone” such that it is shown as grey.
  • Do not click the “Bad Response” and “Read Aloud” icons at the bottom of a response. Clicking either icon risks unintentionally sharing the chat session data with OpenAI. 
  • Start a new topic to clear the chat history when you are done with a chat. Click “New Chat” in the sidebar to start a new topic. Starting a new topic ensures that all temporarily stored prompts and responses from the current chat session are discarded from the cache.
  • To ask OpenAI to remove any sensitive data you have accidentally provided, see the OpenAI policies page to determine who to contact.

Detailed Guidance for ChatGPT

  • Instruct students not to log in to ChatGPT. ChatGPT 4o-mini does not require login. Students should not be instructed to ignore the “log in/sign up” buttons in the sidebar.
  • Do not require sharing sensitive data with the tool: Information entered into the tool will be used for AI training purposes, and may be returned as results to other users. You should not require students to enter any sensitive information, personal information, or intellectual property into the tool.
  • What students can be instructed to share with the tool: Limit data sharing to information that is “Low Risk” according to UBC’s Information Security Standard U1.  
    • This information may be freely disclosed or would cause minimal harm if disclosed. Examples include names and work contact information of UBC faculty and staff members; information that is posted on a public UBC website; and research of a non-personal, non-proprietary nature. 
  • Instruct Students to Avoid using the feedback buttons: Once you receive a response, ChatGPT may show you “Bad Response” and “Read Aloud” icons to give feedback on the response. Clicking either icon risks unintentionally sharing the chat session data with OpenAI. As such, it is best to avoid providing this feedback. 
  • Instruct Students to opt out of the ‘Improve the model for everyone’ setting each time they use the tool: By default, ChatGPT 4o-mini will use any information submitted by students to help train their models. This means anything entered as part of all conversations, by default, can – and likely will – be stored and used by OpenAI in the future. By clicking the question mark icon in the lower right, and then selecting settings, students will have the option to opt out of this meaning less information is shared directly with OpenAI.
  • Remind students of the the critical limits to the tool’s responses: As with any generative AI tool, ChatGPT may give inaccurate or misleading responses known as “hallucinations”.  Also, ChatGPT may include ads in its responses. Keep a sharp eye out for errors or questionable responses, and externally validate the accuracy of any responses that will be broadly disseminated or relied on for decision-making.
  • Inform students that some of their information is shared automatically with the use of the tool: Similar to most websites, a user’s IP Address is shared with the service provider. Students can use the UBC VPN in order to help mask their IP address and location.

This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License.

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