Private AI for financial questions: what to strip from a statement before you ask
The Morse teamPublished 8 min read
The most private AI for financial questions is one that never receives your account numbers and keeps no readable copy of the rest, because as of October 2026 the US law that protects your banking data generally doesn't follow it into a chatbot. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) binds banks, lenders, and other financial institutions. A bank statement, tax return, or pay stub you paste into ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot is governed by that company's own policy instead.
This isn't financial advice. It's about who can read your money questions once you've asked them. We read the Federal Trade Commission's GLBA pages, Google's Gemini privacy hub, Microsoft's Copilot privacy pages, Plaid's end user privacy policy, Bank of America's Erica page, and Wells Fargo's data-sharing terms on October 24, 2026, along with OpenAI's help pages as of October 2026. Some of the companies deserve credit. Microsoft's new Copilot app doesn't train its foundation models on files you upload, and OpenAI says its finance feature never shows ChatGPT your full account numbers.
Does GLBA protect what you tell a chatbot?
Generally, no. The FTC says the act "requires financial institutions" to "explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to safeguard sensitive data," and defines those institutions as "companies that offer consumers financial products or services like loans, financial or investment advice, or insurance" (FTC).
The rule's protected category, "nonpublic personal information," is information a financial institution collects in connection with providing a financial product or service (FTC). Its strongest limits sit on the institution's side. The act "prohibits financial institutions from sharing account numbers or similar access numbers or codes for marketing purposes," even when a customer hasn't opted out. A business is covered only if it is "significantly engaged" in financial activities. The FTC's own examples run from check cashers to a retailer that issues its own credit card, while a bartender running a tab is out.
So the account number your bank can't share for marketing has no such protection once you paste it into a general chatbot yourself. Whether an AI tool that gives "financial or investment advice" counts as a financial institution is a legal question the FTC's pages don't settle for any particular chatbot.
What happens if you connect your bank account to ChatGPT?
The connection runs through Plaid, and two companies end up holding something. OpenAI launched a finance feature in ChatGPT in May 2026 that links bank, card, and brokerage accounts through Plaid. OpenAI's launch post says ChatGPT can't see full account numbers or change your accounts, and that synced data is deleted within 30 days of disconnecting (OpenAI). OpenAI's pages wouldn't load for us on October 24, 2026, so check its Finances help page for the current terms before you connect.
Plaid sits in the middle, and its end user privacy policy, effective December 8, 2025, lists what it can collect from your bank: balances, transactions with their amount, date, and payee, and account details such as "account number, routing number, and sort code." It shares data "with the developer of the app you are using and as directed by that developer" (Plaid). So while ChatGPT doesn't see your full account number, Plaid can hold it.
Banks spell out what happens next. Wells Fargo's terms for connecting accounts to an outside company, last updated September 25, 2024, say the company "may use this Data for its own purposes," that its use "is governed by Company's applicable privacy policy," and that Wells Fargo isn't responsible for that company's products or services (Wells Fargo).
Should you upload bank statements to ChatGPT?
Not a full statement when a few numbers would do. As of October 2026, ChatGPT "automatically saves uploaded and created files" to a Library that outlives the chat, and a deleted file is scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days. OpenAI "may use content (including files you upload)" to train its models if Improve the model for everyone is on (OpenAI). Turn it off under Settings, then Data controls (OpenAI).
Temporary Chat helps. OpenAI says files uploaded there "are not saved to your account or Library." It doesn't help with what's printed on the page, though. The first page of a statement has your name, address, and account number on it whether your question needs them or not. For how retention and training work across the big chatbots, see does ChatGPT train on your data.
Do Gemini and Copilot handle financial documents differently?
They warn you more directly, and Microsoft goes further on training.
Gemini. Google's privacy hub, updated October 23, 2026, says: "Please don't enter confidential information that you wouldn't want a reviewer to see." Activity is auto-deleted after 18 months by default, "reviewed chats are retained for up to three years," and chats with Keep Activity off are still kept with your account for 72 hours. Send feedback and Google takes "any content included in those chats (like uploads and data from Connected Apps)." The hub also says not to rely on Gemini "for diagnosis, treatment, medical advice, or legal, financial, or other professional help," and that when you pay from Gemini, "the transaction history is saved to your Google Pay My Activity" (Google). We cover the rest in is Gemini private.
Copilot. Microsoft's new Copilot app, available since August 18, 2026, says: "Prompts, responses, and your file contents when using the Microsoft Copilot app aren't used to train foundation models" (Microsoft). Microsoft's FAQ for the older app says otherwise. An uploaded file is kept "no longer than 18 months," conversations are stored for 18 months by default, some are subject to human review, and "an opt-out of human review is not available." It also says you "shouldn't provide any confidential or sensitive personal data that you would not want Microsoft to use" (Microsoft). More in is Copilot private.
Are bank AI assistants like Erica more private?
They start from a different place, since you're already the bank's customer and the bank is covered by GLBA. Bank of America says you must be "authenticated through the Mobile app to be able to use Erica," that voice interactions "are saved for 90 days so they can be analyzed to help refine Erica's accuracy," that retained transcripts have personal data masked, and that it "uses a third-party service provider for voice responses" (Bank of America). Erica can help you find your routing and account numbers, because the bank holds them anyway.
We couldn't find terms specific to Wells Fargo's Fargo assistant on its site. A bank's assistant answers questions about that bank's accounts. It won't look over a tax return or compare your three cards from three issuers, which is where people turn to a general chatbot.
What to strip before you ask: a table by document type
Most money questions work with the numbers and none of the identifiers. The FTC lists "credit card or bank account numbers," your "Social Security number," and your name and address as what identity thieves take, and uses like "steal your tax refund" and "get new credit cards in your name" as what they do with them. For paper, it suggests blocking out account numbers with a marker (FTC). Do the same on screen.
| Document | Strip before you ask | Keep, if the question needs it | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank statement | Account and routing numbers, name, address, branch | Category totals, a few transactions, the balance | Plaid lists account and routing numbers among what it collects (Plaid); banks can't share account numbers for marketing (FTC) |
| Credit card statement | Card number, name, billing address | APR, balance, minimum payment, merchants by category | Card numbers are on the FTC's identity theft list (FTC) |
| Tax return (1040, W-2, 1099) | Social Security numbers for you and dependents, employer ID number, address, signature lines | Filing status, income lines, deductions | The FTC lists Social Security numbers among what thieves take, and "steal your tax refund" among what they do (FTC) |
| Pay stub or offer letter | Name, employee ID, employer, bank details for direct deposit | Gross pay, withholding, benefit deductions | Microsoft's older app kept uploaded files up to 18 months (Microsoft) |
| Brokerage or retirement statement | Account number, name, address, adviser contact | Holdings, fund names, fees, contributions | ChatGPT saves uploads to Library until you delete them (OpenAI) |
| Loan or mortgage document | Loan number, property address, co-borrower names | Rate, term, remaining balance, payment | Reviewed Gemini chats are kept up to three years (Google) |
| Screenshot of a banking app | Everything above, plus your username and any account digits on screen | The figures in question | Uploads go with feedback to Google (Google) |
A statement for a joint account also shows the other owner's spending, so trim their transactions too.
How Morse keeps your money questions private
Every row in that table points at the same weak spot. Your statement lands on a company's servers, tied to an account with your email and payment details, under a policy the company wrote and can change, with no GLBA notice or opt-out to fall back on. Morse is built so your chats don't sit on its servers.
- E2EE, for figures from a tax return, a statement, or anything no one should read. Your browser checks the secure enclave's cryptographic proof that it's genuine before anything leaves your device, then encrypts the message so only that enclave can read it. Morse's servers relay text they can't read, and the reply is decrypted only in your browser. The enclaves are run by third-party providers, not by Morse, and the guarantee rests on the enclave hardware and attestation working as designed.
- Anonymous, to ask GPT, Claude, or Gemini about money without the provider knowing it's you. Our proxy removes your account, email, and IP address and sends the message under Morse's own account. Anonymous strips who you are, not what you wrote. The provider still sees the message and may keep it for a limited time to check for abuse, under its own policy, so take the account numbers and Social Security numbers out first, using the table above.
- Private, for budgeting and everyday money questions. Private is the default for a new chat. It runs open-weight models like DeepSeek, Kimi, and GLM, plus xAI's Grok, and Morse has zero data retention agreements with its inference, search, and other providers, so they keep nothing.
Your chat history is stored in your browser, encrypted, not on Morse's servers. Unlocking it takes two keys, one that never leaves your device and one our server gives you when you sign in, so a copy of your browser data alone can't be read. An attached file is sent with the message and never stored by Morse. Morse doesn't train AI on your content, sell your data, or show ads. Because we don't store chats, we usually have very little to give authorities (privacy policy). Clearing your browser, losing the device, or deleting your account deletes your chats, and Morse can't recover them, so save anything you need, like the numbers you worked out for your tax filing.
- Checking figures from a tax return or statement: type them into an E2EE chat.
- A budgeting or debt question with rounded numbers: Private mode, the default.
- Wanting GPT, Claude, or Gemini specifically: Anonymous mode, with account and Social Security numbers removed.
- Connecting a live bank feed: decide whether the question needs one at all.
Try a chat from the Morse home page without an account, or start free. End-to-end encrypted chats come with Pro, at $19 a month.
Common questions
Does a ChatGPT Temporary Chat keep an uploaded statement out of my files?
OpenAI says files uploaded in a Temporary Chat are not saved to your account or Library. Temporary chats themselves may still be kept for up to 30 days, so strip account numbers either way.
How do I cut off an app I connected to my bank through Plaid?
Disconnect it inside the app first. Plaid also runs a portal at my.plaid.com where you can see the connections you've made, end the link between an app and your accounts, and delete the associated data.
Is a typed summary safer than uploading the PDF?
Usually, yes. A typed question carries only the numbers you chose to include, while the first page of a statement or tax return carries your name, address, and account or Social Security number whether the question needs them or not.
Does GLBA cover my bank's own chatbot?
The bank is a financial institution, so GLBA's privacy notice and safeguarding duties apply to the bank, and its chatbot is part of the bank. That's a different position from a general chatbot you paste the same statement into.