Perplexity safety profile

What it does with your data

Perplexity handles data differently depending on the plan. The consumer plans are Free, Perplexity Pro and Perplexity Max. On these plans a setting called AI data retention is on by default. While it stays on, what staff type and upload is collected for AI training until the user opts out. The consumer privacy notice also lists improving or creating services, including Perplexity’s AI models, among its uses of data.

Perplexity Enterprise includes Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max. On these plans, Perplexity says data is never used for AI training and never kept for training.

How long data is kept also depends on the plan. For consumer accounts, the privacy notice says personal data is kept as long as necessary for its stated purposes. It gives no fixed period, and older data may stay in backup files as the law permits. On Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max, uploaded files are kept for 7 days. The vendor pages checked do not say whether people at Perplexity review conversations.

Settings to change first

If anyone on your team uses a Free, Pro or Max account, have them do this before they start:

1. Go to Account settings, open the Preferences page, find the AI data retention toggle and turn it off.
2. If someone has already used the account for work, review what is there. Users can export their data with Export my data, or remove the account and its data with Delete account, on the account details page.

Know the limits of the opt-out. It covers only data collected after the day you turn it off. Training data already collected cannot be deleted. The setting is per user, so every person has to change it on their own account. Even after opting out, data may still be processed to run the service, meet legal duties and improve the product.

Free and paid tiers

Free, Pro and Max are treated alike, so paying for Pro or Max does not stop training. On all three plans, data goes to AI training by default, and each user has to opt out.

Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max differ in four ways:

• Your data is not used for AI training.
• Uploaded files are kept for 7 days.
• Admins get retention controls on larger plans (see below).
• Perplexity has Zero Data Retention and Zero Data Training agreements with its AI providers.

If an Enterprise subscription lapses or is past due, the data is still not used for training. An organization that downgrades to a Free or other non-Enterprise plan falls under the consumer policy. Its users must then opt out manually in Account settings.

Admin controls

Admin controls come with Perplexity Enterprise. The enterprise page lists three: SSO + SCIM, user management over who can upload and download files and how answers are shared, and audit logs to track user activity. It does not say which Enterprise plans include each feature.

Organizations with 50+ Enterprise Pro seats or 1 Enterprise Max seat can also set custom retention periods and force deletion at any time.

For certifications, the trust center lists SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS - SAQ A, ISO 27001:2022 and FedRAMP 20x - Low (Class B). On request, you can get the SOC 2 Type 2 Report, the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certificate and a Penetration Testing document. The HIPAA item is a gap assessment against the HIPAA Security Rule.

Using it with donor and client data

For any work that touches donor or client records, use Enterprise Pro or Enterprise Max, where data is not used for training. If your budget means staff use Free, Pro or Max, treat Perplexity as a public research tool. Make sure every user has turned off AI data retention.

On any plan, never paste in:

• donor names with gift amounts or contact details
• client case notes
• health or payment details
• staff or volunteer personal records

Data may be stored and processed outside your country, including in the United States, and the pages checked offer no choice of region. If that matters for your donors, raise it with Perplexity in writing. Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers out of the EEA or UK are available on request. Also ask Perplexity to confirm in writing how long chats are kept on your plan, because the consumer notice gives no fixed period.

Questions people ask

Does paying for Pro stop Perplexity from training on our data?

No. Pro and Max follow the same rule as Free: training is on by default until each user turns off the AI data retention toggle. Only Enterprise plans are excluded from training.

If we opt out now, is our earlier data removed from training?

No. The opt-out covers only data collected after you turn it off, and training data already collected cannot be deleted. Change the setting before staff start using the tool.

Can we choose where our data is stored?

The vendor pages checked do not offer a choice of region. Data may be processed outside your country, including in the United States. The subprocessors shown on the trust center are all listed in the US.