Practical guide
What not to paste into AI.
The risky part of a prompt is often not the question. It is the extra context copied in to make the answer better.
AI tools are useful because they can work with real context: emails, notes, transcripts, documents, customer messages, code, plans, and half-finished thoughts. That is also why a quick paste deserves a moment of review.
Do not paste direct secrets. Passwords, API keys, private tokens, recovery phrases, payment details, account numbers, and private links should be removed before the prompt is written.
Be careful with people. Names, addresses, phone numbers, health details, family details, private messages, and customer records can turn a useful prompt into personal data.
Check business context. Roadmaps, contracts, unreleased work, internal figures, legal disputes, hiring notes, and investor conversations can reveal more than the specific task needs.
Look inside attachments. Documents, spreadsheets, screenshots, logs, and transcripts can carry metadata, comments, names, hidden tabs, quoted threads, or old context that no longer belongs.
Replace rather than reveal. In many prompts, "a customer", "a supplier", "a colleague", or "a private project" gives enough shape without sending the real detail.
The aim is not to stop using AI. It is to keep the useful shape of the work while choosing what should not become part of the machine's context.