ChatGPT caricature style: What to do when OpenAI knows best

ChatGPT’s caricature trend has gone viral, with many people sharing their AI-generated images on Reddit, X, and other social media platforms. These images are often quite beautiful (although they can be strange and unpleasant). A standard ChatGPT caricature shows the user in a cartoon style, surrounded by objects that reflect their personality, interests, or work.

You can see hundreds of examples in X based on a simple prompt like “Create a caricature of me and my work based on everything you know about me.”

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But what if ChatGPT knows a bit again right? The more detailed and accurate your caricature is, the more ChatGPT and OpenAI know about you.

For example, when I tried to generate a ChatGPT caricature, the results were painfully ugly. When I asked ChatGPT how it decided what details to include in the photo, the chatbot admitted that it just picked out common items like headphones and coffee. “Because I don’t really have any deep personal knowledge about you (beyond what you’ve shared in interviews), I used it a fun but indirect caricature of tropes.” (Emphasis on the original.)

So, if your caricature leaves you feeling a certain way, what can you do? It may be time to practice digital hygiene and take a fresh look at how ChatGPT stores and uses your data.

Delete your ChatGPT chat history

ChatGPT saves a history of your previous chats, which can be useful. However, you can delete these conversations to limit the data OpenAI has about you. To delete individual chats, go to the “Your Chats” tab in the ChatGPT sidebar. Click the three dots next to the conversation and click “Delete.”

You can also delete all your conversations. To do this, click on your profile icon and click on “Settings,” then “Data controls.” Here, you can select “Delete all conversations.” You can also choose to turn off the “Develop model for everyone” setting, which allows OpenAI to use your conversations for model training.

Credit: Screenshot courtesy of OpenAI

Credit: Screenshot courtesy of OpenAI

Request that OpenAI delete your account and personal data

OpenAI has a privacy portal, where users can submit requests for data removal. Using the privacy portal, you can submit a variety of privacy-related requests:

• Download your personal data

• Ask OpenAI not to train its products on your content

• Delete your ChatGPT account

• Delete your custom GPTs

• Remove your personal data from ChatGPT responses

• Submit privacy requests on behalf of another person

You can also send additional requests, questions, and comments directly to OpenAI using an email address [email protected].

Rethink your relationship with AI chatbots

People use ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) in a variety of ways, and over time, it can feel like more than just a regular assistant. Some people go to Chat for serious medical questions, while others treat ChatGPT as a relationship counselor, health coach, or close friend. As Mashable previously reported, a growing number of people are now using AI to befriend them.

However, if you believe you have established a parasocial relationship with large language models like ChatGPT, it may be time to think about how you interact with this technology. For example, if you develop an emotional dependence on ChatGPT, or if you begin to believe that ChatGPT is “alive” and in a relationship with you, you may want to take a break from Chat.

The long-term consequences of developing an emotional reliance on AI chatbots are unknown, but experts we spoke to warned that this type of behavior can be harmful if it takes time and energy away from your other relationships, social life, and hobbies. Organizations such as Common Sense Media have also warned that AI companions are not safe for users under 18 years of age.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringes Ziff Davis’s copyright in training and using its AI programs.