The National Information Technology Development Agency has warned Nigerians against sharing sensitive personal information, including identification numbers, bank details, photographs and medical results, on artificial intelligence platforms.

NITDA issued the warning in an advisory titled “Advisory on the Safe Use of AI Platforms”, published on its website on Monday.

The agency said members of the public were increasingly using AI chatbots and assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and Meta AI for schoolwork, business, job applications, health questions and personal matters.

According to the advisory, many users share personal information without realising that information entered or uploaded on AI platforms may be stored outside their control.

NITDA said, “Information entered into an AI platform, may be retained, logged, used to train the provider’s AI models.”

It warned that personal details shared with AI platforms could be exposed in a data breach and used for identity theft, impersonation or financial fraud.

The agency also cautioned that AI tools could produce answers that appeared confident but were inaccurate or outdated.

It said acting on such information in health, legal, financial or academic matters could cause serious harm.

Anonymise information

NITDA advised members of the public to remove, anonymise or pseudonymise personally identifiable information and sensitive information before using AI tools.

The agency also advised users to verify the privacy and data-handling terms of AI platforms before using them.

It further urged users not to upload internal documents unless specifically authorised.

NITDA said organisations should implement AI governance or AI transformation policies defining approved tools, permitted use cases, data-handling rules and accountability for AI use.

It also advised organisations and their employees to follow existing AI, information security and data protection policies.

NITDA urges users to verify AI answers

In a related message shared on its X handle, NITDA urged users of AI platforms to be careful about the information they provide.

The agency said: “You use ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI for work & school? Be careful what you share.”

It added: “Many share NIN, BVN, bank info, photos & medical results not knowing it may be stored outside your control.”

NITDA advised users: “Don’t share sensitive data with AI; anonymize your prompts; and always verify AI answers.”

The agency ended the advisory with the message: “Think Before You Prompt.” Punch