Privacy and smart sharing
Hide, scrub, or ask
A simple ladder prevents impulsive sharing: hide data that should never leave, scrub removable details, and ask an accountable owner when rules are unclear.
1Try it yourself
Playground
Share or hide?
One item at a time — decide what is OK to paste into a chatbot.
Message 1 of 6
A public recipe you want rewritten
2Learn the idea
Read
The core idea
See it
- 1HideDon’t paste it
- 2ScrubRemove names / IDs
- 3AskIs this tool private enough?
Climb down before you paste anything sensitive
A simple ladder prevents impulsive sharing: hide data that should never leave, scrub removable details, and ask an accountable owner when rules are unclear.
Read
A practical lens
Use this three-part method:
- Hide credentials and uniquely risky records. Write down what this means in the scenario, what evidence would show it was done, and who owns the decision.
- Scrub identifiers from suitable material. Write down what this means in the scenario, what evidence would show it was done, and who owns the decision.
- Ask about policy, consent, and approved tools before proceeding. Write down what this means in the scenario, what evidence would show it was done, and who owns the decision.
Read
Worked example
Walk through A volunteer wants help summarizing a case file but does not know whether the organization permits its records in an external AI tool.. Label three moments where “Hide, scrub, or ask” changes what you trust: (1) the first fluent answer, (2) the first missing source or permission, and (3) the decision a human must own. Write the before/after task so the model only does the slice that evidence supports. Keep one sentence that states how this page’s idea differs from a generic “AI is smart/dumb” score.
Read
Common traps and better moves
- Using redaction to bypass an explicit prohibition. This shortcut removes useful friction, but it also hides an assumption that should be tested. Replace it with an observable check.
- Asking the model whether sharing is allowed. This shortcut removes useful friction, but it also hides an assumption that should be tested. Replace it with an observable check.
- Assuming silence in a policy means approval. This shortcut removes useful friction, but it also hides an assumption that should be tested. Replace it with an observable check.
Read
Build the habit
Before you close the tab, capture a reusable habit for Hide, scrub, or ask inside Privacy and smart sharing: name the observable check, the evidence you would open, and the stop condition. Rehearse it once on a low-stakes example, then once on a higher-stakes variant. The habit succeeds when you can explain the check without reopening this lesson. Target outcome: Recognize personal, sensitive, confidential, and secret information before sharing.
Go deeper
Before you start
Why this matters
A volunteer wants help summarizing a case file but does not know whether the organization permits its records in an external AI tool.
In the wild
See how this idea shows up as a product and a company — then come back to the lesson. Skills transfer across vendors.
Related lessons
Check your understanding
Page assessment
Answer from memory. Completion is saved from this evidence, not from opening the next page.
Local focus for Hide, scrub, or ask (Privacy and smart sharing): write the smallest test that would falsify a confident claim on this page, name the evidence you would open first, and note who must approve if the cost of being wrong is more than a redo. Keep the note under ten lines so you will actually reuse it.
All responses are required.