We are adding OpenAI to the list of our subprocessors and are providing notice to Thinkific users. We know you may have some questions, so check out the article below to learn more.
If you received an email about the new subprocessor and have questions about Thinkific's use of OpenAI, review the frequently asked questions below.
Why am I getting an email about a subprocessor being added?
To be transparent about how Thinkific uses your data, we maintain documents like Thinkific’s Privacy Policy and Subprocessor List. When new information is added to these documents, we notify you to let you know about what is being changed. The email you received is an example of this kind of notification.
Why is Thinkific adding OpenAI to its list of subprocessors?
OpenAI is an industry leader in AI, and Thinkific uses its service to provide AI-powered functionality in the Thinkific app. We’re including OpenAI as a subprocessor as new functionality we’re building uses data which can sometimes include personally identifiable information (PII). To comply with GDPR, it’s important to be particularly clear about when and how this type of information is used.
Why is the change happening now?
You may be familiar with some of our current generation of AI-powered features like Course Outline Generator or Funnels, which ask you a series of questions about your business, your audience, and what your students are seeking to learn. Our next generation of AI-powered features use information you’ve already provided us with in order to generate content that’s more relevant to your business without needing to ask you for this information every time. These materials sometimes mention PII, so we’re making this clear with the addition of OpenAI as a subprocessor.
How will Thinkific and OpenAI use my data?
Your data will be used as part of prompts sent to OpenAI to generate learning and selling content in AI-powered features in the Thinkific app. The data from your Thinkific site is exclusively used to generate content for your own site, and not other users of the Thinkific platform. We also use AI to better understand your needs as a Thinkific customer, such as identifying feature improvements or request trends in support tickets.
When will information be transferred to OpenAI?
We’ll send different information depending on which AI-powered feature you’re using. For example, if you’re using a feature that generates course outlines, we would send information that helps us identify your subject area, your audience, and your business goals to generate a more useful and relevant outline.
What AI-powered features does Thinkific offer?
You can find out more about the AI-powered features available on Thinkific on this page: AI at Thinkific. If you’re interested in the AI Principles that Thinkific applies when designing and building AI-powered features, you can read more here: AI at Thinkific: Our Principles.
What if I don’t use these features?
Thinkific’s AI-powered features are additional to the features we’ve built in the past. While we encourage you to try them out, if you don’t use these AI-powered features, the only time we’ll send your data to OpenAI is for internal use at Thinkific, such as cataloguing product feedback, identifying trends in support tickets, and ensuring that content follows our Terms of Service.
Will my data be retained by OpenAI or used to train their models?
Your data is not used to train OpenAI’s models. When generating content using AI, OpenAI temporarily stores data for a short period of time for preventing abuse of their platform, though otherwise does not retain nor use your data. See OpenAI’s Security page for more information.