Fact check
AI analysis“OpenAI said it found 53 cases in which user‑uploaded image links on ChatGPT were shared with third‑party websites.”
Reasoning
OpenAI’s own blog post and Q2 2025 Transparency Report both report that 53 user‑uploaded image links were unintentionally shared with third‑party sites, and The Verge independently confirms this number.
On confidence: Multiple primary sources from OpenAI directly state the figure of 53 incidents, and an independent report corroborates it.
Important context
The incidents stem from a bug that exposed image URLs to external services; OpenAI disclosed the issue publicly and quantified the cases as 53.
Evidence
Supporting (3)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceWe discovered a bug that exposed user‑uploaded images to third‑party sites
In our investigation we identified 53 cases where image URLs uploaded by users were inadvertently shared with external websites.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceOpenAI Transparency Report – Q2 2025
The report records 53 incidents in which user‑uploaded image links on ChatGPT were shared with third‑party services.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originOpenAI says 53 user images were shared after bug
OpenAI confirmed it found 53 cases where image links uploaded by ChatGPT users were unintentionally sent to external sites.
Limitations
No contradictory evidence found; the claim is fully supported by the provided sources.
- Last verified:
- Sep 26, 2026, 3:20 PM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 0.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
OpenAI tools post user images from ChatGPT onlineDeutsche Welle