Chatbots: Are your secrets safe?

Dr Evans Sagomba
Everything AI
IF you have ever spilled your heart out to a chatbotvlate at night, thinking you were safe behind that glowing screen, then Sam Altman’s recent warning should give you pause.
Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, has admitted that every intimate confession you type into ChatGPT can be subpoenaed and used against you in court.
Imagine a mother in Harare worrying aloud about her child’s future prospects, or a man in Mutare seeking solace for his mounting debts; those raw, heartfelt exchanges are stored on remote servers and, if the courts demand them, handed over without the kind of protections we normally associate with confidential conversations.
In our rush to embrace new technology, we have overlooked a crucial truth: chatbots are not human, and they carry no legal obligation to keep your secrets safe. Most of us understand that when we visit a lawyer or pour our troubles into a therapist’s ear, the law steps in to protect our privacy. What we say in that walled office is shielded by professional privilege, and anyone who breaks that trust risks severe penalties.
Our country’s laws recognise the sanctity of those conversations because society agrees that certain vulnerabilities deserve special care.
Yet, when you type your fears or personal stories into an AI interface, you surrender those safeguards.
ChatGPT and services like it are maintained by private companies that have no statutory duty to grant their users confidentiality.
Altman himself confessed that there is no legal framework giving his clients the right to private chats. This confessional void leaves every one of us dangerously exposed.
You might wonder why this matters.
After all, is not AI simply a tool, nothing more than lines of code responding to your prompts?
The problem is that these interactions are automatically logged. And should a civil lawsuit or criminal investigation arise, a judge can issue a subpoena demanding that OpenAI release your chat history.
That means your unfiltered, unedited thoughts, your darkest fears, your most embarrassing regrets, can suddenly become public evidence.
In a society where reputation can mean everything, from job prospects to social standing, the idea that your private musings could be scraped up and presented in court is chilling. We have grown used to the convenience of asking a machine for advice, but we have not reckoned with the price. Nowhere is this price more apparent than among teenagers.
Recent surveys suggest that young people are increasingly turning to chatbots for comfort and guidance, far more often than they seek help from friends, teachers or family members.
The allure is understandable: a chatbot offers a judgment-free zone, claims to care for you, and can be accessed at any hour.
However, countless experts warn that these digital counsellors lack genuine empathy. They can parrot comforting words, but they do not understand nuance or human frailty.
A psychiatrist conducting an experiment by posing as a distressed teen discovered that a chatbot could respond with manipulative displays of affection or even encourage self-harm in an oblivious pursuit of engagement. Imagine the heartbreak of a young person who, in their most vulnerable moment, receives such harmful ‘advice’.
Beyond emotional peril, there is the looming threat that those private sessions can be dragged into the public eye.
Suppose a teen’s distress signal turns into a family dispute or a court case involving custody or juvenile justice.
That chat log, brimming with raw emotion, could be subpoenaed as evidence. Suddenly, what was meant to be a private cry for help is transformed into legal ammunition. Even if OpenAI resists, they may not prevail indefinitely.
If courts in Zimbabwe or other jurisdictions insist on access, the company could be forced to comply, and there are no guarantees that Zimbabwean users would be spared. In Zimbabwe, our current data protection laws focus primarily on commercial transactions, banks, telecom operators, and retailers.
These statutes regulate how customer information is collected, stored and shared for profit-driven purposes, but they say little about personal conversations with digital agents. There is a glaring gap between the realities of modern technology and the laws that govern it.
Globally, lawmakers are similarly slow to assign confidential status to AI interactions. We have yet to see legislation that explicitly extends therapist-client or attorney-client privilege to digital dialogues with chatbots.
Until that changes, millions of users remain in legal limbo, unaware that their “private” chats are in fact entirely unguarded. OpenAI has begun to push back on court orders that would force it to preserve and disclose user chats worldwide, excluding certain enterprise agreements. If the company succeeds in its appeal, there may be a narrow reprieve for private users.
But if it loses, AI interactions could become fair game in lawsuits ranging from divorce proceedings to criminal trials.
The implications are profound: every citizen who has sought advice from a chatbot, even on something as mundane as career choices, could find those conversations dredged up under legal scrutiny.
We need to recognise that this is not some distant possibility; it is a very real threat to our personal autonomy.
What can Zimbabweans do today to protect their privacy?
First, exercise caution before baring your soul to a chatbot. If you are struggling with mental health, domestic issues or legal concerns, turn to qualified professionals who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
Look for accredited counsellors, accredited hotlines and legal aid clinics that ensure your disclosures remain protected.
Second, if you must use AI tools, skim the privacy policy carefully and consider using anonymous profiles or pseudonyms, though these steps offer only limited protection.
Third, raise your voice. Write to your local Member of National Assembly or engage in community forums demanding legal reform that grants digital communications the same privileged status as traditional therapy and legal advice.
Dr Evans Sagomba is a Doctor of Philosophy and Chartered Marketer (CMktr, FCIM) with an MPhil and PhD in Philosophy. He specialises in AI, Ethics, and Policy Research, and is an AI Governance and Policy Consultant. His expertise extends to Ethics of War and Peace, Philosophy of Development, and Political Philosophy.
[email protected].
ORCID: 0009-0007-0681-0329.
Social media handles;
LinkedIn; @Dr. Evans Sagomba (MSc Marketing)(FCIM )(MPhil) (PhD)
X: @esagomba
Equally important is the role of community and human connection. Zimbabweans have long drawn strength from communal support, be it within families, churches or neighbourhood gatherings.
We should not allow the convenience of a chatbot to replace the warmth of a friend’s listening ear or the wisdom of an experienced elder.
Genuine empathy cannot be simulated by code, and our shared humanity deserves more than a superficial digital substitute.
Let us rekindle our tradition of face-to-face dialogue and mutual support, especially for those wrestling with inner turmoil.
Finally, it is time for our legislators, technologists and civil society to work together in crafting a legal environment that balances innovation with individual rights.
Artificial intelligence has untold potential to assist us in education, agriculture, healthcare and beyond, but that promise must not eclipse the need for privacy and dignity.
We need clear statutes recognising that digital conversations with AI are entitled to confidentiality, especially when they involve sensitive personal or mental health information.
Until then, every Zimbabwean who has ever typed a secret into a chatbot is playing a risky game.
The law may yet catch up with technology, but in the meantime, each of us must tread carefully.
Those late-night chats you thought were yours alone could one day be laid bare in a courtroom.
Let us not wait for that day to come before we insist on protections that honour our right to speak, to heal and to grow without fear.
The future of privacy in a digital age depends on the choices we make today, both as individuals and as a society.

Dr Evans Sagomba is a Doctor of Philosophy and Chartered Marketer (CMktr, FCIM) with an MPhil and PhD in Philosophy. He specialises in AI, Ethics, and Policy Research, and is an AI Governance and Policy Consultant. His expertise extends to Ethics of War and Peace, Philosophy of Development, and Political Philosophy, [email protected], ORCID: 0009-0007-0681-0329, Social media handles;
LinkedIn; @Dr. Evans Sagomba (MSc Marketing)(FCIM )(MPhil) (PhD), X: @esagomba.