March 25, 2026
Clippy wants a snack: your code
Updates to GitHub Copilot interaction data usage policy
Your Copilot clicks now teach the AI by default — users cry “opt-in, not opt-out”
TLDR: GitHub will use Copilot user interactions to train its AI by default unless you opt out, excluding Business/Enterprise accounts and honoring prior opt-outs. Comments erupted over consent, privacy, and even EU legality, with some swearing off GitHub and others shrugging it off as common practice that may improve suggestions.
GitHub just told its users that starting April 24, the company will use their Copilot “interaction data” — what you type, what you accept, and the code around your cursor — to train its AI unless you dig into settings and turn it off. Business and Enterprise accounts are excluded, previously opted-out users stay opted out, and the data sticks to the Microsoft family. Cue the comment section going full courtroom drama.
The loudest chorus: consent and control. One paying user fumed, “I want opt-in, not opt-out,” calling the move a head‑wobble moment for GitHub. Privacy hawks zeroed in on the fine print about private repos being processed while you use Copilot, reading it as a backdoor for training unless you explicitly say no. Others raised the L-word: legality — with EU watchers asking if this flies under stricter privacy rules.
The mood turned apocalyptic and theatrical fast. An open‑source veteran declared the “AI apocalypse” and vowed to self‑host everything rather than feed corporate models. Another commenter wondered if this means everyone’s full codebases end up inside the Microsoft mothership, stoking fears about “affiliates” getting a peek. A few cooler heads countered that this is industry standard and could boost code suggestions — but the top‑voted energy was pure side‑eye, plus memes like “Clippy is watching your cursor” and “git push to the Borg.”
Key Points
- •Starting April 24, interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+ users will be used to train GitHub’s AI models by default unless users opt out.
- •Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise users, and enterprise-owned repositories, are excluded from this training program.
- •Users can opt out via Privacy settings, and any prior opt-out preferences are preserved.
- •Data that may be used includes inputs, outputs, code snippets, cursor context, comments, file names, repo structure, navigation patterns, feature interactions, and feedback signals.
- •Training data may be shared with GitHub affiliates including Microsoft, but not with third-party AI model providers or independent service providers.