X activates a setting, on by default, that gives it permission to train Grok on user's posts; the setting can be turned off on the web but not in the mobile app

X's new experience is automatically set to opt-in and uses your data to train its Grok AI model.

Windows Central 2024-07-27 Kevin Okemwa

Context & Ripple Effects

Grok has moved from a Premium+ chatbot to a feature embedded in X’s product surface: it was used to curate and summarize Stories, while X was also exploring account and text-based Grok interactions. The default training setting makes the platform’s user-post corpus part of that broader integration strategy.

The move has already drawn official attention: Ireland’s regulator said it was seeking clarity on X’s default training permission. That focus is especially material because the setting’s controls differ between web and mobile.

First-order effects

X users’ posts are eligible for Grok training unless they change the setting, but mobile users cannot make that change in the app.
X gains a default-enabled source of posts for Grok as it expands uses such as Grok-curated Stories.

Second-order effects

The web-only opt-out is likely to concentrate privacy and usability scrutiny on X’s consent flow, particularly after the regulator’s request for clarity.
More deeply embedded Grok features, including the explored account and highlighted-text interactions, create a stronger incentive for X to align product rollout and data-permission controls.

Third-order effects

If platforms increasingly make AI-training permission default-on, consent architecture—not merely the presence of an opt-out—will become a central test of AI companion governance.
The case points to a possible structural tension in social AI: the same user-generated corpus can improve integrated features while increasing pressure for clearer, cross-platform controls over how it is reused.

The trend: Social platforms are folding generative AI into core experiences while making data-governance design a defining constraint on that integration.

Discussion

@RuthMalan@mastodon.social Ruth Malan on mastodon
If you still have a twitter account, but don't go there much: — “Twitter just activated a setting by default for everyone that gives them the right to use your data to train grok. They never announced it. You can disable this using the web but it's hidden. You can't disable …
@easybakedoven @easybakedoven on x
Twitter just activated a setting by default for everyone that gives them the right to use your data to train grok. They never announced it. You can disable this using the web but it's hidden. You can't disable using the mobile app Direct link: https://x.com/... [image]
@safety @safety on x
All X users have the ability to control whether their public posts can be used to train Grok, the AI search assistant. This option is in addition to your existing controls over whether your interactions, inputs, and results related to Grok can be utilized. This setting is avail…
@kevinschawinski Kevin Schawinski on x
X added a setting for “we'll take your data to train grok” without any notice and just defaulted to “yes” for everyone. This is BAD. [image]
@cherthedev Cher Scarlett on x
Kind of like when the rest of the data farmers opted the rest of us into their models because we went on livejournal and deviantart and posted our lives when we were teenagers?
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
So X just happened to notify people (via an account that not everyone follows) only after users started noticing it. Worth nothing: X is automatically opting users in to this practice. You have to manually opt out. This is not informed consent. https://x.com/...
@charlesarthur Charles Arthur on x
This is great, all of you keep doing this, I want Grok to think and respond like me
@mattrosoff Matt Rosoff on x
Just did this. I don't tweet my id or psyche like a lot of people on here do — at least not all the time — but I still don't want my tweets used this way. https://techcrunch.com/... via @techcrunch
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
For a company under an FTC consent decree for violating users' data privacy, this is quite the underhanded move. https://x.com/...
@paulg Paul Graham on x
If you think you're reasonable, you should want AIs to be trained on your writing. They're going to be trained on something, and if you're excluded that would bring down the average. (This is a separate question from whether you should get paid for it.)
@toadpacshakur ToadPac Shakur on x
That is gonna be the most racist, hate-filled AI lol
@bentossell Ben Tossell on x
new grok default setting... [image]
@sirjamesa12 @sirjamesa12 on x
i'm at a point where i have to recheck my privacy settings every time the tos gets updated
@_alialkhatib Ali Alkhatib on x
all i'm saying is it should be financially overwhelming to companies it should be panic-inducing for the lawyers of companies that operate under any regulatory jurisdiction it should be catastrophic to the careers of the people who work on this to implement & deploy like this
@internethippo @internethippo on x
I love to break EU laws to train my dumbshit AI that nobody uses
@drewmcweeny @drewmcweeny on x
I just disabled this bullshit, and seriously, @Elonmusk, fuck you for opting everyone in without telling them. AI bros are the absolute fucking worst of the worst.
r/technology r on reddit
X is training Grok AI on your data—here's how to stop it
@delexical.bsky.social Ronan Delexical on bluesky
It's fucking illegal and the DPC need to bring the hammer down, not “seek clarity” [embedded post]
r/technology r on reddit
Here's how to disable X (Twitter) from using your data to train its Grok AI

Chronicles