GitHub—GitHub switched Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+ users to opt-out-by-default AI model training on their code and chat interactions

GitHub announced on March 25, 2026 that starting April 24, 2026, interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+ users — including code snippets sent and accepted, surrounding file context, comments, file names, repository structure, and chat interactions — would be used by default to train and improve GitHub's AI models unless the user actively opts out. Copilot Business and Enterprise customers remain contractually exempt. GitHub disclosed the collected data may be shared with corporate affiliates including Microsoft, and said it had already begun training on Microsoft employees' Copilot interaction data. Developers reported on Hacker News that the training toggle was sometimes found enabled despite having previously opted out, and commentators noted there is no independent audit mechanism verifying that opting out actually halts data collection; the opt-out setting was also unavailable in GitHub's mobile app at launch.