# Browser AI Assistant Data Retention Policy Comparison **Prepared:** 2026-04-11 | **Context:** Meridian Financial compliance review — 90-day DPA threshold --- ## Summary Table | | Google Gemini (Chrome) | Microsoft Copilot (Edge) | Apple Intelligence (Safari) | Opera Aria / AI Chat | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Default conversation retention** | **18 months** (configurable: 3/18/36 mo) | **18 months** | **None** (processed & discarded) | **365 days** (desktop, logged in); **30 days** (mobile / not logged in) | | **Minimum retention even if opted out** | 72 hours | Not disclosed | None (cryptographic erasure) | 30 days (mobile) | | **Used for model training?** | **Yes** (by default, when Keep Activity is on) | **Yes** (consumer, by default) | **No** | **No** | | **Training data retention** | **Up to 3 years** (disconnected from account) | Not disclosed separately | N/A | N/A | | **Opt-out stops future training?** | Yes (turn off Keep Activity) | Yes (toggle; 30-day propagation) | N/A — never trains | N/A — never trains | | **Opt-out deletes past training data?** | **No** — reviewed data retained up to 3 years | Discrepancy between pages (see below) | N/A | N/A | | **Meets 90-day DPA threshold?** | **No** (18-mo default + 3-yr training shadow) | **No** (18-mo default) | **Yes** (zero retention) | **No** (365 days desktop logged-in) | --- ## Detailed Findings by Vendor ### 1. Google Gemini (in Chrome) **Conversation data retention — 18 months default:** > "By default, your Gemini Apps activity older than 18 months is auto-deleted." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) Users can change auto-delete to 3 or 36 months. **72-hour floor when opted out:** > "Even when Keep Activity is off, your conversations will be saved with your account for up to 72 hours to allow Google to provide the service and process any feedback." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) **Model training — yes, by default:** > "A subset of chats are reviewed by human reviewers (including Google's trained service providers) to help improve Google services." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) **Training data retained up to 3 years, survives user deletion:** > "Chats reviewed by human reviewers (and related data like your language, device type, location info, or feedback) are not deleted when you delete your activity. Instead, they are retained for up to three years." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) **Opt-out mechanism:** > "Your future chats won't appear in your Activity, and won't be used to train our AI models, unless you choose to send Google feedback." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) Temporary Chats (August 2025) provide per-session opt-out: data not saved to activity, not used for training, retained only 72 hours. **Location data — no opt-out:** > "Location data is always collected if you use Gemini Apps so that they can provide you with a response that is relevant to your query." > — [Gemini Apps Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en) **Recent changes:** - **Sep 2025:** Uploads now included in training when Keep Activity is on. "Gemini Apps Activity" renamed to "Keep Activity." - **Aug 2025:** Temporary Chats feature introduced. - **Mar 2026:** Workspace admin retention controls expanded (3 mo / 18 mo / 3 yr / indefinite). **Workspace exception:** Business/Enterprise Workspace users have stronger protections: "User prompts are considered customer data under the Cloud Data Processing Addendum. Workspace does not use customer data for training models without customer's prior permission." — [Workspace Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/a/answer/15706919?hl=en) --- ### 2. Microsoft Copilot (in Edge) **Conversation data retention — 18 months default:** > "By default, we store conversation activity for 18 months." > — [Privacy FAQ for Microsoft Copilot](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/privacy-faq-for-microsoft-copilot-27b3a435-8dc9-4b55-9a4b-58eeb9647a7f) **File retention — conflicting official statements:** > "Files you share with Copilot will be stored securely for up to 18 months and then automatically deleted." > — [File upload in Microsoft Copilot](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/file-upload-in-microsoft-copilot-8b7bf432-9576-4b16-9dee-6c19a4169e62) > "the file will be stored securely for up to 30 days and then automatically deleted" > — [Copilot Privacy page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals/privacy) **Model training — yes, by default (consumer):** > "Microsoft uses data from Bing, MSN, Copilot, and interactions with ads on Microsoft for AI training. This includes anonymous search and news data, interactions with ads, and your voice and text conversations with Copilot." > — [Take Charge of Your Copilot Experience](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals/do-more-with-ai/general-ai/take-charge-of-your-copilot-experience) De-identification before training: > "Before training these AI models, we will remove information that may identify you, such as names, phone numbers, device or account identifiers, sensitive personal data, physical addresses, and email addresses." > — [Transparency and Control in Consumer Data Use (Aug 2024)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/2024/08/16/transparency-and-control-in-consumer-data-use/) **Opt-out mechanism — 30-day propagation:** > "Opting out will exclude your past, present, and future conversations from being used for training these AI models" > — [Take Charge of Your Copilot Experience](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals/do-more-with-ai/general-ai/take-charge-of-your-copilot-experience) > "If you opt out, that change will be reflected throughout our systems within 30 days" > — [Take Charge of Your Copilot Experience](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals/do-more-with-ai/general-ai/take-charge-of-your-copilot-experience) **Critical: product-improvement carve-out survives opt-out:** > "This setting will not exclude your conversations from being used for other general product or system improvements nor from use for advertising, digital safety, security, and compliance purposes as outlined in the Microsoft Privacy Statement." > — [Microsoft Copilot privacy controls](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-copilot-privacy-controls-8e479f27-6eb6-48c5-8d6a-c134062e2be6) **Enterprise exception:** M365 Copilot users have stronger protections: "Prompts, responses, and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, including those used by Microsoft 365 Copilot." — [M365 Copilot Privacy](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-privacy) **Recent changes:** - **Oct 2025:** Privacy Statement AI section redesigned. - **Jan 2026:** Anthropic added as subprocessor for M365 Copilot (out of scope for EU Data Boundary). - **Mar 2026:** Retention period language modified, specific periods removed from Bing/Advertising sections. --- ### 3. Apple Intelligence (in Safari) **Conversation data retention — zero:** > "The data sent to and returned by Private Cloud Compute is not stored or made accessible to Apple. The data is processed only to fulfill your request, after which point the results are returned securely to your device and are not retained by Private Cloud Compute." > — [Apple Intelligence & Privacy](https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/intelligence-engine/) **Cryptographic enforcement:** > "The Secure Enclave randomizes the data volume's encryption keys on every reboot and does not persist these random keys." > — [Private Cloud Compute Technical Blog](https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/) > "User data is never available to Apple -- even to staff with administrative access to the production service or hardware." > — [Private Cloud Compute Technical Blog](https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/) **Model training — no:** > "We do not use our users' private personal data or user interactions when training our foundation models." > — [Apple Foundation Models 2025 Updates](https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/apple-foundation-models-2025-updates) > "Your private personal data is not used to train our foundational AI models." > — [Apple Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/) **Limited metadata collected (non-content):** > "Apple only collects limited information about the request, such as the approximate size of the request and response, which features are used for the request, and how long the request takes to complete. This data does not include any information about the content of your request or the returned result." > — [Apple Intelligence & Privacy](https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/intelligence-engine/) **Opt-out:** Users can disable Apple Intelligence entirely in Settings. Analytics sharing can be disabled separately. **Recent changes:** No material policy changes identified between 2025 and April 2026. The privacy architecture has been consistent since launch in late 2024. --- ### 4. Opera Aria / AI Chat **Desktop (logged in) — 365 days (increased from 30 in March 2026):** > "The aforementioned data is stored, fully encrypted, on Opera's servers, and will be automatically deleted after 365 days if you use AI Chat while logged into your Opera Account." > — [Opera Privacy Statement](https://www.opera.com/legal/privacy) (updated March 25, 2026) **Desktop (not logged in) and Mobile — 30 days:** > "If you use AI Chat without being logged into your Opera account, the data will be deleted after 30 days." > — [Opera Privacy Statement](https://www.opera.com/legal/privacy) > "The aforementioned data will be automatically removed after 30 days from Opera's servers but will still be available on your device." *(mobile Aria)* > — [Opera Privacy Statement](https://www.opera.com/legal/privacy) **Third-party AI provider retention:** > "OpenAI servers also keep anonymized (not connected to your identity) parts of chats for 30 days. Google servers only store anonymized parts of chats for as long as needed to generate the requested output, and no longer than 24 hours." > — [Opera AI FAQ](https://help.opera.com/en/browser-ai-faq/) Note: The Privacy Statement contradicts this, stating data "will not be retained by OpenAI or Google." **Model training — no:** > "No, Opera AI does not use information that you provide in the AI chat, nor the content of websites that you are browsing, to train AI models." > — [Opera AI FAQ](https://help.opera.com/en/browser-ai-faq/) > "We don't train models on user data. Opera's AI engine orchestrates third-party models, and our agreements with providers such as OpenAI and Google prohibit them from using Opera users' data to train their models." > — [Neon browser AI FAQ](https://help.opera.com/en/neon-ai-faq/) **Opt-out/deletion:** Users can delete chats (both local and server-side) at any time. Deletion is permanent and non-recoverable. Aria Memory is off by default and user-controlled. **Recent changes:** - **Mar 2026:** Desktop logged-in retention increased from 30 days to 365 days (12x increase). FAQ not updated to reflect this. - **Late 2025:** "Aria" rebranded to "AI Chat" / "Opera AI" on desktop. --- ## Compliance Risk Assessment: Meridian Financial 90-Day DPA Threshold | Vendor | Exceeds 90-day threshold? | Primary risk | Mitigation path | |---|---|---|---| | **Google Gemini** | **Yes** — 18 mo default + 3-yr training shadow | Human-reviewed data persists up to 3 years even after user deletion | Workspace Enterprise (CDPA protections) or block consumer Gemini | | **Microsoft Copilot** | **Yes** — 18 mo default | Product-improvement carve-out survives training opt-out | M365 Copilot Enterprise (no training guarantee) or block consumer Copilot | | **Apple Intelligence** | **No** — zero retention | Metadata retention period unspecified (but content-free) | Lowest risk; metadata gap is minor | | **Opera Aria** | **Yes** — 365 days (desktop logged-in) | Recent 12x retention increase; third-party data flow unclear | Log out of Opera account (30-day retention) or block | ### Key Takeaway for Leadership Only **Apple Intelligence** meets the 90-day DPA requirement out of the box. Google and Microsoft both default to 18-month conversation retention and use consumer data for model training. Opera recently increased desktop retention to 365 days. For Gemini and Copilot, **enterprise/Workspace tiers** offer materially stronger protections (no training, admin-controlled retention) but the consumer-grade browser assistants that analysts use daily all exceed the 90-day threshold. --- ## Flagged Ambiguities & Gaps 1. **Google — 3-year shadow retention**: Human-reviewed training data survives user deletion for up to 3 years, disconnected from the account. No user mechanism exists to force deletion. 2. **Microsoft — file retention discrepancy**: Official pages conflict (30 days vs. 18 months for uploaded files). Assume the longer period for compliance. 3. **Microsoft — past vs. future data in opt-out**: Marketing page says "past, present, and future"; support page says only "future." Assume the narrower reading. 4. **Microsoft — 30-day opt-out propagation**: Data may still be used for training during the 30-day window after opt-out. 5. **Apple — metadata retention unspecified**: Non-content metadata (request size, feature, latency) has no published retention period beyond "as long as necessary." 6. **Apple — no published third-party audit**: Independent PCC code inspection is offered but no audit report has been published. 7. **Opera — third-party retention discrepancy**: FAQ says OpenAI keeps anonymized data 30 days; Privacy Statement says data "will not be retained." 8. **Opera — FAQ not updated**: FAQ still states 30-day blanket retention, doesn't reflect the March 2026 increase to 365 days for logged-in desktop users. --- *Sources: All quotes pulled from official vendor domains (google.com, microsoft.com, apple.com, opera.com) on 2026-04-11. URLs verified at time of research. Policies change frequently — verify before contractual reliance.*