AI chatbots are giving out people’s real phone numbers
Commercial AI chatbots leaking PII from training data poses a direct privacy risk for agencies where staff or public use these tools.
Key points
- AI chatbots including Gemini and ChatGPT are exposing real personal phone numbers and home addresses from training data.
- DeleteMe reports a 400% increase in customer queries specifically referencing generative AI privacy breaches in seven months.
- Australian agencies holding PII should note this as a live risk for staff and public use of commercial AI tools.
Summary
Reports are emerging of AI chatbots including Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude surfacing real personal information—phone numbers, home addresses, and family details—apparently sourced from training data. Incidents include a University of Washington researcher extracting a colleague's personal cell number via Gemini. Privacy removal service DeleteMe reports a 400% spike in customer queries referencing generative AI tools over seven months. Experts note the mechanism is poorly understood and there is currently little recourse for affected individuals.
Implications for Australian agencies
- Consider Agencies with AI acceptable use policies may want to consider whether guidance adequately addresses the risk of inputting or querying personal information via commercial AI chatbots.
- Monitor Privacy and AI governance teams may want to monitor how OAIC and international counterparts respond to PII leakage from commercial LLM training data.
Implications are AI-generated. Starting points, not advice.
"AI chatbots are giving out people’s real phone numbers" Source: MIT Technology Review – AI Published: 13 May 2026 URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/13/1137203/ai-chatbots-are-giving-out-peoples-real-phone-numbers/ Reports are emerging of AI chatbots including Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude surfacing real personal information—phone numbers, home addresses, and family details—apparently sourced from training data. Incidents include a University of Washington researcher extracting a colleague's personal cell number via Gemini. Privacy removal service DeleteMe reports a 400% spike in customer queries referencing generative AI tools over seven months. Experts note the mechanism is poorly understood and there is currently little recourse for affected individuals. Implications for Australian agencies: - [Consider] Agencies with AI acceptable use policies may want to consider whether guidance adequately addresses the risk of inputting or querying personal information via commercial AI chatbots. - [Monitor] Privacy and AI governance teams may want to monitor how OAIC and international counterparts respond to PII leakage from commercial LLM training data. Retrieved from SIMS, 18 May 2026.