Privacy Concerns and ChatGPT: Exploring Online Discourse through the Lens of Information Practice on Reddit

TL;DR

This study analyzes Reddit discussions to understand how users collectively negotiate privacy concerns related to ChatGPT, revealing practices like risk signaling, norm-setting, and advocacy for privacy-preserving solutions.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into online user practices and discourse around AI privacy concerns through qualitative analysis of Reddit posts, using information practice theory.

Findings

Reddit users signal risks and set norms around ChatGPT privacy.

Users collectively troubleshoot and share privacy-preserving strategies.

Discourse includes resignation and advocacy for better privacy measures.

Abstract

As millions of people use ChatGPT for tasks such as education, writing assistance, and health advice, concerns have grown about how personal prompts and data are stored and used. This study explores how Reddit users collectively negotiate and respond to these privacy concerns. Posts were collected from three major subreddits -- r/Chatgpt, r/privacy, and r/OpenAI -- between November 2022 and May 2025. An iterative keyword search followed by manual screening resulted in a final dataset of 426 posts and 1,900 comments. Using information practice as the theoretical lens, we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis to identify collective practices of risk negotiation, validated with BERTopic topic modeling to ensure thematic saturation. Findings revealed risk signaling, norm-setting, and resignation as dominant discourses, and collective troubleshooting and advocacy for privacy-preserving alternatives as key adaptive practices. Reddit functions as a site of collective sense-making where users surface risks, establish informal norms, and share strategies for mitigating privacy threats, offering insights for AI design and privacy literacy initiatives.