How to Disable AI Training on Perplexity Account Data

Perplexity uses your account data including search queries, saved collections, and library content to train and improve its AI models. This practice helps refine answer quality but may raise privacy concerns for users who prefer their data not be used for model training. In this article, you will learn how to disable AI training on your Perplexity account data through the account settings panel. The process takes less than two minutes and applies to both free and Pro accounts.

What Disabling AI Training Does and Does Not Do

Perplexity states in its privacy policy that user interactions such as search queries, follow-up questions, upvotes, downvotes, and saved collections may be used to train and improve its AI models. This data helps the system generate more accurate and relevant answers over time. Disabling AI training stops Perplexity from using your future account activity for model improvement.

The setting does not affect your ability to use any Perplexity feature. Search, Collections, Spaces, and Pro features continue to work exactly as before. The only change is that your data stops flowing into the training pipeline. Perplexity still stores your data to provide the service — for example, saving your Collections and search history — but that stored data will not be used to train new models.

One important limitation: data already collected and used for training before you disable the setting cannot be removed from those trained models. The toggle only applies to future data collection. If you want to delete your existing data entirely, you must request account deletion, which removes all stored data and closes your account.

Steps to Disable AI Training on Perplexity Account Data

You can disable AI training from any web browser or the Perplexity mobile app. The menu path is identical across platforms. Follow these steps:

1. Open Perplexity and sign in to your account
   Go to perplexity.ai in your browser or open the Perplexity app on iOS or Android. Make sure you are logged into the account you want to modify.
2. Click your profile avatar in the top-right corner
   Your avatar is a small circle showing your initials or a profile photo. A dropdown menu appears with options including Settings, Library, and Log out.
3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu
   This opens the main Settings page with sections for Account, Appearance, and Language.
4. Click Account in the left sidebar
   The Account section displays your email, subscription status, and data options.
5. Scroll to the Data & Privacy section
   This section contains two options: “Use my data to improve Perplexity AI” and “Delete account.”
6. Toggle off “Use my data to improve Perplexity AI”
   The toggle switch turns from blue to gray. A confirmation message may appear briefly at the top of the page stating that your preference has been saved.

No additional confirmation dialog appears. The change takes effect immediately. You can verify the setting is off by checking that the toggle is gray and the text next to it says “Off.”

Disabling AI Training on the Mobile App

On the Perplexity mobile app for iOS and Android, the steps differ slightly because the interface uses a bottom navigation bar instead of a sidebar:

1. Tap your profile icon in the bottom-right corner
   This opens the Profile page with your username, email, and a gear icon for settings.
2. Tap the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner
   The Settings screen shows Account, Appearance, and Language options.
3. Tap Account
   Scroll down to the Data & Privacy section.
4. Toggle off “Use my data to improve Perplexity AI”
   The toggle turns gray. The setting is now disabled.

What to Do If the Toggle Does Not Save or Reappears

The Toggle Turns Back On After Closing Settings

If you disable the toggle but it reverts to on after you close and reopen Settings, the change may not have synced to Perplexity servers. Log out of your account completely, then log back in. Repeat the steps above. If the problem persists, clear your browser cache or app cache. On a browser, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the clear browsing data dialog and select Cached images and files. On mobile, go to your device Settings > Apps > Perplexity > Storage > Clear Cache.

The Data & Privacy Section Does Not Appear

The Data & Privacy section appears for all accounts regardless of subscription tier. If you do not see it, make sure you are on the most recent version of the web app or mobile app. Refresh the page or update the app through the App Store or Google Play Store. If it still does not appear, contact Perplexity support through the Help option in the Settings menu.

You Want to Delete All Past Data Used for Training

Disabling the toggle does not delete data already used for training. To remove all your data from Perplexity servers, you must delete your account entirely. In Settings > Account > Data & Privacy, click the red “Delete account” link. This permanently removes your account, search history, Collections, and all stored data. Perplexity cannot retroactively remove data that has already been incorporated into trained AI models.

Item	Disabling AI Training	Deleting Account
Effect on future data	Stops collection for training	Stops all data storage
Effect on past data	Data remains but not used for future training	All data permanently deleted
Account access	Full access retained	Account closed and unrecoverable
Time to take effect	Immediate	Up to 30 days per privacy policy
Retroactive model removal	Not possible	Not possible

You have now disabled AI training on your Perplexity account data. Your future search queries, Collections, and library content will not be used to improve Perplexity AI models. To confirm the setting is active, revisit Settings > Account > Data & Privacy and verify the toggle is off. If you later change your mind, you can re-enable the toggle at any time. For complete data removal, use the Delete account option, but remember that this action is irreversible and closes your account permanently.