# ChatGPT's Health Feature Launches Broadly, But Privacy Concerns Remain
OpenAI has expanded access to ChatGPT Health, its new feature designed to help users track symptoms and manage personal health information. The rollout now includes free and paid users across web and mobile platforms. However, the privacy safeguards have deteriorated since the feature's initial announcement.
The health tool allows users to upload medical documents, describe symptoms, and receive general wellness guidance. OpenAI positions it as a complementary resource, not a replacement for professional medical advice. The company does not use health conversations to train its models by default, but users can opt in to allow their data for training purposes.
The concern centers on how OpenAI handles and stores this sensitive data. When the feature first launched in beta, OpenAI promised stronger privacy controls. Those protections have been scaled back in the wider release. Users now have less granular control over how their health information flows through OpenAI's systems. The company retains conversation history by default, which means your symptom descriptions and medical details sit in OpenAI's servers.
For ordinary users, this creates a real tension. ChatGPT can help interpret health information quickly and affordably. A free user can ask about medication side effects or track recurring headaches without paying a doctor's visit fee. Paid subscribers ($20 monthly) get priority access and faster responses. But storing this data introduces security and privacy risks that extend beyond what you might accept with a traditional health app.
Health apps from companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google face different regulatory scrutiny under HIPAA and state privacy laws. ChatGPT Health operates in a grayer zone. OpenAI's terms of service allow the company to retain and review user content for "safety" purposes, which could theoretically include your health conversations.
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