How popular AI tools for online business owners use your data
Whether it’s ethical — I’ll let you make that call.
If you love the idea of the convenience of AI, but something about it gives you the smidgiest smidge of hesitation… you’re in the right place today.
In this post, I’m taking a dive into the legal terms for three popular software platforms for online business owners — specifically, platforms that incorporate AI.
I’m Maria Spear Ollis, aka The Lunar Lawyer, and I’m going to shine some light on how popular AI tools use your data.
How Zoom’s AI Tools Use Your Data
Zoom, the popular video conferencing software, has actually come a long way in the last year and a half.
In 2023, Zoom was majorly criticized when its legal terms allowed access to users' data for AI training. Then, in a mea culpa-laced blog post, Zoom promised not to use users’ audio, video, or chat content for training its AI models without users’ consent.
And now, in late 2024, Zoom’s legal terms still line up with that policy!
And I quote:
Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models.
(Section 10.2.)
So long as Zoom honors this fairly straightforward policy, it seems your data is safe and won’t be used to train Zoom’s AI tools.
Canva’s AI Product Terms
Whenever I conduct a poll for tools that you’re using in your business, Canva is at the top of the list. (How would we non-designers-who-need-designs survive without it?
Canva’s AI Product Terms are short and pretty easy to read. But here’s what they have to say about AI:
…any Input you provide, including any personal data you choose to include within that Input, will be shared with third party service providers we engage to enable functionality within the Service. By using the AI Products, you direct and consent to personal data you include in an Input being transferred to third parties, including OpenAI, LLC…and they may also use your data to improve their services.
(“Technology partners” section.)
Ope! Did you catch that?
Let’s back up.
Canva uses third-party (aka outside-of-Canva) service providers to provide its AI products. So far so good.
Any input you provide (like prompts) are provided to those third-parties. Like OpenAI (aka ChatGPT). Got it.
Buuuuut, those third parties may use your data to improve their services.
…And you don’t have to agree to those third-party privacy policies in order for them to do so.
My question: What does “improve their services” mean, exactly? A generative AI tool depends on data.
So here’s how I interpret this: a prompt that contains private or proprietary info about your business could be used to train AI models.
Not sure. Not sure how I feel about that one.
Does Descript Use Your Voice to Train Its AI Tools?
Descript is a popular podcast and video editing software. And it isn’t shy about its Underlord features — AKA, its ai-based tools that help you look better and sound better.
So how do its legal terms stack up?
…we and any vendors, contractors, or other third parties who provide any artificial intelligence technologies or services used to provide the Generative Tools (collectively “Third-Party Providers”), may access and use your Input and Output in order to create and operate Descript and as otherwise permitted under these Terms. This includes use by Descript to train, improve, and develop its models and technologies (unless you have opted out of such use) and the Descript Service and for other research and development purposes. However, our agreements with Third-Party Providers prohibits them from using such Inputs and Outputs to train their models.
Translation: Descript can use your prompts AND output (files/sounds/video that Descript creates) to train and improve its AI tools, but its third-party providers cannot.
And, you can opt out. If we hop over to the Privacy Policy, we see this language:
We may also use your Projects to analyze and improve the Descript Service. You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service by emailing us at support@descript.com.
Conclusion
All in all, it isn’t surprising that generative AI tools use your data to improve those tools. Whether you’re comfortable with that is completely up to you.
Regardless, I’d pause before putting ANY confidential or proprietary information into any AI tool if you don’t understand how your input will be used!
But… that’s why I’m here. To read the fine print for you.