If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

If your data is stored in a database that a company can freely read and access (i.e. not end-to-end encrypted), the company will eventually update their ToS so they can use your data for AI training — the incentives are too strong to resist

GitHub is updating its terms. By April 24th, GitHub will train on interaction data from private repos for Free and Pro users unless they opt out. While GitHub claims they don't train on "private repo data at rest," they do collect "interaction data"—specifically inputs, outputs, code snippets, and associated context—when using Copilot.

This has sparked significant backlash. Critics argue that "associated context" effectively means the private code you are working on. If you use Copilot in a private repo, that code is now part of the training set.

Users are concerned about privacy leaks, such as sensitive keys or proprietary algorithms being surfaced to others. Some developers are moving to self-hosted alternatives like Forgejo to maintain full control.

To prevent this, users must manually go into their Copilot settings and uncheck the box allowing GitHub to use their data for model training before the April 24 deadline.