GitHub will use Copilot interactions to train models by default starting April 24, 2026

On March 25, 2026, GitHub updated its privacy statement and terms to say that, beginning April 24, 2026, it will use Copilot “interaction data” from consumer tiers to help train and improve its AI models. The change affects Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users by default, though individuals can opt out in their Copilot settings. Organization-managed Copilot Business and Enterprise plans are explicitly excluded.

What GitHub calls interaction data includes the inputs you give Copilot, the outputs it produces, code snippets and the associated context shown during Copilot sessions. According to the company, it will not use the contents of private repositories “at rest” for model training. However, GitHub notes that interaction data generated while working inside a private repository could be included unless the user has disabled collection for model training.

GitHub also says it will not hand users’ Copilot inputs and outputs to third-party model providers for their independent training. The company describes technical safeguards — including filters and de‑identification — that it intends to use to protect data used for model training.

Users retain control over whether their Copilot interactions are used for training. Opting out is done from Copilot settings under Features > Privacy, where there is a toggle labeled “Allow GitHub to use my data for AI model training.” GitHub says any opt-outs that users previously set will continue to be honored.

The announcement has drawn broad attention in developer communities and the tech press. Coverage has emphasized that consumer-tier accounts will be opted in by default when the change takes effect and has pointed users to the settings page if they want to prevent their Copilot sessions from being used to train GitHub’s models.

Bottom line: starting April 24, 2026, Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ interactions will be eligible to help train GitHub’s AI models unless individual users opt out. Copilot Business and Enterprise accounts are not affected by this change.