OpenAI enables marketing cookies by default for free ChatGPT users - paid subscribers exempt
What it really says
As of May 1, 2026, OpenAI has enabled marketing cookies by default for all free ChatGPT users. The company now shares limited data such as cookie IDs, device IDs, and email addresses with advertising partners to promote its own products on third-party platforms like Instagram. Specifically, OpenAI uses these identifiers to check whether users performed certain actions after seeing an ad - for example, whether they signed up for the Codex tool after seeing an Instagram advertisement. According to OpenAI, conversations with ChatGPT itself are still not shared with advertising partners. OpenAI had already begun displaying ads at the bottom of ChatGPT outputs for US users in February 2026. Paying subscribers (ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise) are not affected by the default activation of marketing cookies - they must actively opt in. Users can disable tracking under Settings > Data Controls > Marketing Privacy. Non-logged-in users can also opt out via the 'Your Privacy Choices' link on the OpenAI website or through Global Privacy Control.
Our assessment
The concern is partially justified, but context matters. On one hand, OpenAI is creating a two-tier privacy system: those who pay retain control over their data, while free users become the product. This is a familiar pattern from the social media world now arriving in the AI industry. For a company that positions itself as a responsible AI developer, this sends a trust signal in the wrong direction. On the other hand, the shared data is limited - cookie IDs and email addresses, not conversations. The tracking primarily serves ad measurement for OpenAI's own products, not selling user profiles to third parties. And there is an opt-out option. The deeper issue is this: when AI assistants become ad-supported platforms, the incentive structure changes. Instead of providing the user with the best answer, there is a long-term incentive to keep users on the platform and get them to click. We know this pattern from social media - and the societal consequences are well documented.
Relevance for Germany
Particularly relevant for Germany and Europe from a GDPR perspective. Enabling marketing cookies by default without prior consent (opt-in) contradicts the European data protection principle requiring active consent before tracking. While OpenAI maintains a separate EU privacy policy, the question of whether default activation is even legally compliant for EU users is likely to concern data protection authorities. European authorities - led by Italy's Garante and the Austrian data protection authority (via noyb complaints) - had already initiated proceedings against OpenAI. For German users: anyone using ChatGPT for free should check and potentially disable their marketing privacy settings. Long-term, this case illustrates the importance of European AI alternatives like Mistral or Aleph Alpha, where data protection does not depend on payment status.
Fact check
Core facts - default activation of marketing cookies for free users, sharing of cookie IDs and email addresses, distinction between free and paid accounts - are consistently reported by The Decoder, TechBuzz, and other sources and documented in OpenAI's own privacy policy. The opt-out path via Settings > Data Controls > Marketing Privacy is confirmed in official OpenAI documentation. That ChatGPT conversations are not shared with advertising partners is also confirmed by OpenAI. The introduction of ads in ChatGPT in February 2026 was reported by t3n and The Decoder. Caveat: Whether and how default activation differs for EU users is not clearly evident from available sources - OpenAI references separate EU guidelines.
Source
- • The Decoder 01.05.2026 (the-decoder.com/chatgpt-now-tracks-users-for-ads-by-default-as-openai-looks-for-new-revenue/)
- • t3n January 2026 (t3n.de/news/openai-werbung-chatgpt-1725818/)
- • OpenAI US Privacy Policy (openai.com/policies/us-privacy-policy/)
- • OpenAI Europe Privacy Policy (openai.com/policies/eu-privacy-policy/)
- • OpenAI Cookie Policy (openai.com/policies/cookie-policy/)