Hopping on the Ghibli-style image trend? Experts worry about data and personal privacy — here’s what to keep in mind

OpenAI last week rolled out its Studio Ghibli-style image generation feature on ChatGPT, and on April 1, Sam Altman said the artificial intelligence (AI) platform had registered 10 lakh users in just an hour!

The craze has become viral, with Ghibli-styled images flooding the internet and social media feeds — but all this comes at some cost. While you may agree or disagree on the copyrights of the original Japanese studio; for all users, data and privacy do matter.

Experts Worry About Data and Privacy

Thus, as many AI enthusiasts hopped onto ChatGPT and Grok 3 and uploaded their personal photos to transform into the Ghibli-style anime art, privacy experts online feel that there are some concerns about personal data.

Critics warned that OpenAI and Grok may use the flood of personal photos, to train their AI models using fresh facial data that has now come in voluntarily. As users flock to the platform to upload their photos by choice, the company is bypassing legal restrictions applied for websites online that prohibits scraping of data, they said.

Notably, the ChatGPT-maker is legally bound under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations to provide justification for scraping images online as “legitimate interest” i.e. necessary and ensure that user privacy is safeguarded and transparency ensured. When you upload photos to ChatGPT for Ghibli transformation, you agree to user terms that may bypass such protections and requirements.

‘Think Before You Upload’ Says Himachal Cyber Warriors

In a thread on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), cyber security dedicated account, called Himachal Cyber Warriors warned people to “think before you Ghibli”, adding that the “cute Ghibli-style selfie might cost more than you think”.

What did the account raise concerns over? Misuse or manipulation of uploaded photos, AI training without explicit consent, and likely sale to data brokers for tragetted ads.

‘Forgery, identification, authentification collapse’

AI Tech Privacy co-founder Luiza Jarovsky, in her own thread on X, also warned about AI image generators being targetted at collecting more personal data and could soon create problems in identification and authentification.

Jarovsky added that the image generator can be used to forge and create fake documents, and attached an example she generated using ChatGPT. “Because it can accurately insert user-generated text into images and follow a sequence of prompts while preserving continuity, people have started creating fake receipts with it. Below is an example I created myself with a few prompts, showing an AI-generated fake restaurant bill. With additional prompts, I could make it even more realistic. It would look like a typical photo taken to request a reimbursement,” she added.

“OpenAI’s and similar advanced AI image generators make it extremely easy, cheap, and accessible to create fake evidence. Anyone with bad intentions will be able to create them in a matter of minutes and at almost zero cost, increasing the incentives for malicious parties to expand and upgrade the quality of their scams,” Jarovsky added.

Ghibli-Style Images: What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

• To begin with, think twice before you upload private photos on unknown or untrusted platforms. However, if you need to upload one, avoid sharing a high-resolution image that can be scraped for AI training.
• Thoroughly check the platform’s privacy policies to know how they use your data. Read their privacy policies to see how your data will be used.
• For most privacy, choose platforms that do not store your data.
• When downloading apps, ensure that you remove camera and gallery access to apps that may have permission to use it.
• Conduct a reverse image search to ensure that your photo isn’t being misused online.

How Did ChatGPT, Grok3 Answer Questions About Privacy Concern Questions?

When prompted about the safety of using its Ghibli-style image generator, ChatGPT told Hindustan Times that “its not safe to upload personal photos into any AI tool” unless privacy and data policies are clearly defined.

The chatbot added, “OpenAI does not retain or use uploaded images beyond the immediate session, but it’s always best to avoid sharing sensitive or personal images with AI services. If privacy is a concern, consider using offline tools or apps specifically designed for secure image processing.” Notably, OpenAI has not made any official statement on the matter.

Answering the same question, Grok 3 told HT that its parent company xAI does not specify how long images are retained and data “could be vulnerable to breaches”. It also pointed out that unless you opt out, images may be used to improve the AI tools.

Grok did add that misuse may not be intentional, but users best avoid uploading photos with sensitive details. “Grok 3’s security measures are likely decent (xAI isn’t a fly-by-night operation), and the fun of seeing yourself as a Ghibli character might outweigh the worry. But if privacy’s a priority, especially with photos of people who haven’t consented, you’re rolling the dice,” it ended.