We are telling AI chatbots our biggest secrets, but Proton warns our privacy is at huge risk

• 66% of UK AI users have discussed highly sensitive topics with a chatbot
• Yet, 64% of respondents are worried that chats will be used to profile them
• Proton's privacy-first chatbot, Lumo, aims to fix this trust gap

Late at night, when you need to vent about a relationship, ask for career advice, or check a worrying health symptom, who do you turn to? For a rapidly growing number of people, it isn't a friend, family member, or doctor; it's a chatbot.

A new piece of research published today by Proton, the Swiss tech firm behind some of the best VPN services on the market, reveals that a staggering 66% of British AI users have discussed at least one sensitive topic with an artificial intelligence assistant.

However, there is a massive contradiction at the heart of this new digital relationship: we are pouring our hearts out to these chatbots, but we do not actually trust them. According to the survey, 42% of UK users have little or no trust in AI companies to protect their private information, and 11% don't trust them at all.

Despite these glaring privacy reservations, 55% of Brits admit that AI has fundamentally changed their everyday decision-making.

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The ultimate judgment-free zone

So, why are we sharing our most intimate thoughts with machines we don't trust? The answer is simple: freedom from judgment.

While friends and family remain the preferred choice for most sensitive discussions, AI offers a 24/7 digital confidant that won't react with surprise or embarrassment.

Proton's data shows personal finance is the most commonly discussed sensitive topic (33%), followed closely by work or career problems (32%), mental health struggles (27%), and relationship issues (20%).

"AI is learning far more about us than a search engine ever could," said Eamonn Maguire, Director of AI Engineering at Proton. "We’re not just asking questions. We’re sharing deeply personal context about our health, finances and relationships. And when technology knows that much about us, privacy can't be an afterthought."

The primary worry isn't just about the AI remembering a single chat, or even the risk of human reviewers reading your logs. Users are increasingly terrified of the bigger picture.

In the UK, 64% of respondents are concerned that their vulnerable conversations are being weaponized to build detailed advertising or marketing profiles. Meanwhile, 52% are worried their secrets are being fed back into the machine to train future AI models.

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How Lumo promises a private alternative

Despite these valid fears, Brits are highly receptive to a more secure way forward. A massive 82% of users said they would be more likely to use an AI chatbot specifically designed around privacy, and 44% would be far more willing to share sensitive information if they were given a cast-iron guarantee that their chats wouldn't be used for AI training.

This is exactly where Proton hopes to fill the gap with Lumo. Built with the same end-to-end encryption ethos as the company's famous email client, Lumo is an open-source, privacy-first ChatGPT alternative.

To help users understand the scale of their digital footprint, Proton recently launched AI Paper Trail, a tool from Lumo that visually demonstrates exactly how much personal information an average AI conversation leaks about a user's inner life.

"People have already decided that AI is useful enough to hear their money worries, doubts and everyday concerns. They are handing AI companies their inner lives and biggest secrets on the assumption that they will protect them when it's actually the opposite. AI's business model depends on learning from them" Maguire added.

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