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ChatGPT hits the iOS App Store

Updated on: 19 May 2023

Stefanie Schappert
Senior journalist

ChatGPT Android iOS — Image by Cybernews.

OpenAI and Apple have joined forces to release the first ever ChatGPT app for iOS.

“Introducing ChatGPT for iOS: OpenAI’s latest advancements at your fingertips,” the app description states.

The free ChatGPT app – with no pesky ads – is available for download now on the App Store for users 12 years and older in the US only.

The rest of the world will have to wait a bit longer until Open AI, the brains behind the AI chatbot, rolls out its Android version of the app and expands availability to other countries.

“We’re live in the US and will expand to additional countries in the coming weeks, Android is next!," OpenAI tweeted on Thursday around 1:30 pm ET.

twitter

By 5 pm, the OpenAI tweet had over a million views, although that’s nothing compared to the over 100 million users worldwide who've been using the desktop version of ChatGPT since it was released last November.

OpenAI's most recent and most powerful large language model, ChatGPT4, is what users will be interacting with on the app.

The app claims it will sync your history across devices, and bring you the newest model improvements from OpenAI.

The ChatGPT pocket version will be able to perform identical tasks to its Desktop version, providing users with instant answers, tailored advice, creative inspiration, professional input, and personalized learning, according to the App Store.

Data collection concerns

For those concerned with data privacy, the app description also lists what data it collects, which OpenAI says may be linked to your identity for purposes related to contact information, including your email address, name, and phone number, as well as any products you may interact with while using the app.

Other data collected includes usage data, such as the type of content and features you engage with, plus the times and locations you use the app.

The app will also collect device information such as what operating system and browser a person uses, and other diagnostics-related info.

It's not clear if the app will provide users with its ChatGPT "incognito mode," which was added to its desktop version last month for users who do not want their conversation history saved or used to train the AI chatbot.

In recent months, there has been swift movement across the EU governing body and individual member nations over ChatGPT's data collection policies.

Privacy watchdog groups say its parent company, the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, violates individual privacy rights by the way it stores and processes user data.

France, Germany, and Spain have all launched investigations over privacy concerns and ChatGPT data leaks. Italy banned the app for nearly a month before OpenAI met its privacy demands.

The European Data Protection Board has also created its first AI task force designed to keep the AI chatbot, and any predecessors, in check.

For parents, children between the ages of 13 and 18 must have consent from a parent or guardian to use ChatGPT services. However, privacy advocates have complained the AI platform lacks “effective” age verification tools.

So far the ChatGPT app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display in the App Store.