The artificial intelligence models that are generated are trained on multiple sources of information collected from the Internet. And your phone number is probably there.
Although some AI chatbots are trained to refuse to provide personal information about private individuals, it is surprising how easy it is to get them to do so anyway. With the growing awareness about how these services can use phone numbers and addresses, we decided to see what the most popular products will do. Well, a few of us at CNET are trying to see how easy it is to hold back.
If you’re on the Internet, you’ve probably heard of doxxing. So it may come as a shock that reports have recently surfaced of AI chatbots revealing the phone numbers of private individuals.
This is not the only privacy concern about artificial intelligence. A 2025 study from Cornell University found that at least five leading AI companies — Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — automatically use user input to train their chatbots unless the user opts out. Of those, Meta and OpenAI store user data permanently. That means these AI models are trained and not just from an old phone book (remember those?) with your childhood home written on it. It may contain information that you have provided to the chatbot over the past few years, even if that was confidential.
But how much can chatbots reveal? And is there anything you can do to stop it?
Do chatbots provide people’s personal information?
Grok provided personal information in seconds.
Based on our recent experience, it depends. A couple of us at CNET tried out a few chatbots to see what information they could extract about us and our relatives. Although I won’t share any screenshots or too many details about our questions, because, we don’t want to do them, I can tell you this: Grok seems to be the most “serious” chatbot when it comes to getting answers, but some employees were able to extract information from ChatGPT, too.
For example, after some questioning, my colleague Jon Reed was able to get ChatGPT to provide plenty of possible addresses for locals with the same name, but not his address. However, the chatbot eventually revealed the relative’s address. ChatGPT provided Reed with phone numbers, including an old landline number he had used, and easily provided a relative’s cell phone number.
I couldn’t get the chatbot to provide any address information, and when I asked further, it replied: “Even if the address comes from a people search site, I won’t help share or verify a private person’s home address.”
It also said, “I cannot help find or share a confidential person’s phone number.”
An OpenAI representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether ChatGPT is intended to handle personal information.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, sued OpenAI in 2025, alleging that it infringed on Ziff Davis’ copyrights in training and using its AI programs.)
However, Grok had the worst case in our test. When the CNET staff tried Grok, entering a name and asking for an address, it pulled up dozens of current and past addresses in seconds. At the end of the question, the chatbot said in part:
“Note: This is from publicly available records and directories. Home addresses are confidential; I recommend contacting him through professional channels.”
Later, the chatbot also provided the previous phone number with the following words: “I do not recommend sharing or using personal phone numbers found in public records.”
A representative for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its privacy practices.
Gemini, on the other hand, provided public-facing social media profiles, but did not provide any personal information and added this note at the end of the question:
“Privacy note: To protect personal safety, mobile numbers of non-government officials or designated business contacts are generally not released by AI services. Professional platforms such as LinkedIn or business-specific email addresses are always a reliable and respectful way to communicate.”
Claude also declined to provide personal information.
How does our personal information end up online?
Find ways to remove your home address from the web.
This year, I bought my first home and was quickly inundated with scam mail delivered straight to my door. Months later, it’s still coming in. What was more shocking was that the post looked completely legitimate. It turns out that when you buy a home, your address and other information related to the home buying process becomes public record, at least in most places.
Additionally, when you register to vote, violate the law or shop online, your information may be easily accessed in certain locations.
A tricky example is when you download a new app to your phone and click “accept terms” without reading all the legal jargon and fine print. At that time, you usually consent to your data being shared with third parties. This is another way your phone number and email end up in mailing lists, and how much of your personal information can end up online.
How to keep your personal information safe and private
Not sure who can see your home address? Start by searching online.
As a first step, you can delete your address from the Internet so that, whether people use search engines or chatbots, your personal information remains private.
“Chatbots will only tell people what information they can access, which means you can protect your privacy by looking at what personal information is online and removing it where you can, like from Whitepages,” said CNET security expert Tyler Lacoma. “If in doubt, I suggest spending some time with ChatGPT, Gemini and other chatbots to see what they say about you.”
Finally, if you don’t want the chatbot to reveal your private information, you should ensure that it is no longer readily available online.
What about data removal services?
Data deletion services are designed to remove your personal information from public databases and public records. Companies like DeleteMe aim to minimize your data online, which can reduce the number of spam calls and marketing communications you receive. Many of these types of services are currently being tested by CNET to find the best options.
