ChatGPT is very easy to get started with. Signing up is free and you can use your own email address or sign in with your Google or Microsoft account. But you may have noticed that ChatGPT also asks for your phone number.
With all the concern about whether or not ChatGPT is safe to use, this may have left you wondering, which begs the question: why does ChatGPT need your number?
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Why does ChatGPT require a phone number?
Like many other things you sign up for online, ChatGPT requires proper identification. First, it’s an email, which requires you to click a link within your email to confirm. From there, it asks for your name and date of birth, followed by your phone number.
This is called two-factor authentication and it’s common these days, especially since it’s easy to create a unique email address. It should be noted that the phone number does not have to be different: more than one email address can be associated with a single phone number. OpenAI can use phone numbers to restrict account creation, but I’ve tried setting up two email addresses with one phone number with no issues.
In this case, searching for a phone number is just making sure that you are a real person and that your account is not easily hacked. It should be noted that when logging in, ChatGPT does not require two-factor authentication every time.
Is it safe to give ChatGPT your phone number?
You may be concerned about giving ChatGPT your phone number or other personal information. The service is banned in Italy, after all, based on privacy concerns under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rule in Europe.
But those privacy concerns don’t have to do with giving OpenAI your phone number or other personal information. The temporary ban in Italy has more to do with the way a large language model is trained, which involves collecting large amounts of data. Regular visitors to Italy claim that there is no legal basis for such collection. They also raised concerns about the lack of age verification when logging into ChatGPT.
As for the app itself, phone numbers are only required for “security reasons,” and OpenAI promises not to use your personal information for other purposes in its privacy agreements.
However, I would never give ChatGPT personal information about me in the context of chats. Everything you send to ChatGPT is saved, even after you delete it from your chat history. This is why OpenAI specifically advises against sharing personal data with a chatbot.
Can I use ChatGPT without a phone number?
Unfortunately not. ChatGPT does not accept VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) numbers, which means you will need an active mobile phone number to verify your account. The only exception to this rule is using an app like Dingtone. The mobile app explains how it can be used to generate a virtual phone number that can be used for accounts like ChatGPT.
There have been reports that if you are trying to access ChatGPT in a country where it is not available, phone number verification prevents you from continuing with your account. Of course, you can bypass location restrictions by using a VPN, but you’ll still need an active phone number for it to work.
If for some reason verifying your phone number doesn’t work, we recommend that you contact the OpenAI support team to resolve the issue.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn