AI Assistant Instinct Upgrades Data Erasure Capabilities Following Privacy Concerns
Personal assistant application Instinct faced scrutiny after user testing showed that unlinking a Google account failed to clear previously synced email records from company servers. In response, the team released a tool letting users delete stored data while maintaining their conversation histories.
The Blend
A privacy oversight was recently highlighted in the AI personal assistant app Instinct, where unlinking third-party services failed to remove previously imported personal records. Product executive Claire Vo reported on X that after disconnecting her Google account from the service, the assistant still read and summarized her private inbox several hours later.
In response to her feedback, Instinct's developers deployed a feature allowing users to manually purge their imported sync records from company systems. This new option clears raw imported data while leaving existing chat logs and assistant memories intact. For everyday consumer tech users, the event is a reminder that revoking an application's login access does not automatically mean your past information has been wiped from their backend databases.
While the quick update grants users more direct control over their information, it is still unclear if Instinct plans to make full data removal automatic whenever an account is unlinked in the future. As virtual assistants gain deeper access to personal communications, tech companies will need to prove that their data retention practices are fully transparent and automated.
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Ingredients
- claire vo 🖤 on X: "The instinct team has reached out and said this is a gap they’ll close ASAP ❤️ I’ve also offered to privately share some other things I’ve noticed while prodding behind the scenes (that I didn’t feel responsible disclosing publically)" / X
Product leader Claire Vo revealed that AI assistant Instinct continued reading her inbox after access was revoked, prompting the developers to roll out a manual data deletion tool.