AI Coaching Privacy: What Happens to Your Answers (and What You Shouldn’t Share)
Concerned about privacy? Learn what information you don’t need to provide, the principle of data minimization, and the boundaries between payment, delivery, and personal reflection.
Privacy concerns are reasonable. Reflection is personal, and you shouldn’t have to trade safety for insight.
This article is not legal advice. It’s practical guidance for using AI-guided reflection in a safer way.
First: what you do *not* need to provide
For a useful insight report, you typically do not need to provide:
- government ID numbers
- home address
- employer name and sensitive workplace details
- other people’s full names
- private medical information
You can describe episodes without making them identifiable.
Instead of: “At Company X, my manager John yelled at me on March 12.”
Use: “In a fast-paced role, I received harsh feedback in a meeting.”
The pattern is what matters, not the identity.
Data minimization: the principle that keeps you safer
Data minimization means:
Only share the minimum information required to get the outcome you want.
For insight, the minimum is usually:
- context (non-identifying),
- what you did,
- why you chose it,
- what it cost,
- what drained or energized you.
Boundaries: reflection vs payment vs delivery
It helps to separate concerns:
- Reflection content (your answers) → used to generate insight patterns.
- Payment → handled by a payment processor; should not require your personal reflection details.
- Delivery (online reading / PDF / email) → a convenience layer to help you keep the report.
If any part feels like it’s demanding sensitive data it doesn’t need, treat that as a red flag.
A “safe usage” checklist
- Use non-identifying language.
- Skip private details that don’t change the pattern.
- Focus on decisions and trade-offs.
- If you’re in crisis, seek professional help first.
Want to see how the report is delivered?
Ready to start with safer boundaries?
- Start the assessment: Start Assessment