| Tool Name | Does 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 5 by OpenAI without an account | No, not for ChatGPT Version 5 without an account | 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. |
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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 2026, can be accessed without an account. The version available without an account can be referred to as ChatGPT 5 without an account. OpenAI also offer other versions of ChatGPT called ChatGPT 5 Pro, ChatGPT o3, and others, 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 5 without an account.
Sample Syllabus Language
Usage of ChatGPT in this Course
In this course, you will use OpenAI’s generative AI tool, ChatGPT version 5 without an account.
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 5 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 upper 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 5 without an account does not require login. Students should 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 5 without an account 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.