Hopping on the Ghibli-style AI image trend? Experts worry about data and personal privacy — here's what to keep in mind

Last week, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT’s 4o Image Generation model, which quickly went viral because of its Studio Ghibli-style art images. On April 1, Sam Altman said ChatGPT had registered 10 lakh new users in just an hour!

The trend has gone viral, with Studio Ghibli-style images taking over the internet and dominating social media feeds — but this craze comes at some cost.

Is it truly safe to upload photos on ChatGPT for Studio Ghibli-style image illustrations? While opinions may differ regarding potential copyright violations involving the original iconic Japanese studio, digital experts have raised alarms about data privacy and security risks for users.

Experts Worry About Data and Privacy

Many AI enthusiasts hopped onto ChatGPT and Grok 3 and uploaded their personal photos to transform them into Studio Ghibli-style anime art.

Privacy data experts have warned that OpenAI and Grok may use the flood of personal photos to train their AI models using fresh facial data that has now come in voluntarily. As users flock to the platform to upload their photos, the company is bypassing legal restrictions applied for websites that prohibit web-scraped data, they said.

Notably, the ChatGPT-maker is legally bound under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations to provide justification for scraping images online as “legitimate interest”, i.e. necessary and ensure that user privacy is safeguarded and transparency ensured. 

When you upload photos to ChatGPT for Studio Ghibli-style transformation, you agree to user terms that may bypass such protections and requirements.

‘Think Before You Upload’ Say Himachal Cyber Warriors

In a thread on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), a cyber security dedicated account called 'Himachal Cyber Warriors' warned people to “think before you Ghibli”, adding that the “cute Ghibli-style selfie might cost more than you think”.

What did the account raise concerns over? Misuse or manipulation of uploaded photos, AI training without explicit consent, and likely sale to data brokers for targeted ads.

‘Forgery, identification, authentification collapse’

AI Tech Privacy co-founder Luiza Jarovsky, in a thread on X, also warned about AI image generators being targeted at collecting more personal data and could soon create problems in identification and authentification.

Jarovsky added that the image generator can be used to forge and create fake documents and attached an example she generated using ChatGPT. 

“Because it can accurately insert user-generated text into images and follow a sequence of prompts while preserving continuity, people have started creating fake receipts with it. Below is an example I created myself with a few prompts, showing an AI-generated fake restaurant bill. With additional prompts, I could make it even more realistic. It would look like a typical photo taken to request a reimbursement,” she wrote on X.

“OpenAI's and similar advanced AI image generators make it extremely easy, cheap, and accessible to create fake evidence. Anyone with bad intentions will be able to create them in a matter of minutes and at almost zero cost, increasing the incentives for malicious parties to expand and upgrade the quality of their scams,” Jarovsky added.

Ghibli-Style Images: What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

• To begin with, think twice before you upload private photos on unknown or untrusted platforms. However, if you need to upload one, avoid sharing a high-resolution image that can be scraped for AI training.
• Thoroughly check the platform's privacy policies to know how they use your data. Read their privacy policies to see how your data will be used.
• For most privacy, choose platforms that do not store your data.
• When downloading apps, ensure that you remove the camera and gallery access to apps that may have permission to use them.
• Conduct a reverse image search to ensure that your photo is not being misused online.

How Did ChatGPT, Grok3 Answer Questions About Privacy Concern Questions?

When prompted about the safety of using its Studio Ghibli-style image generator, ChatGPT told Hindustan Times that “its not safe to upload personal photos into any AI tool” unless privacy and data policies are clearly defined.

The chatbot added, “OpenAI does not retain or use uploaded images beyond the immediate session, but it's always best to avoid sharing sensitive or personal images with AI services. If privacy is a concern, consider using offline tools or apps specifically designed for secure image processing.” Notably, OpenAI has not made any official statement on the matter.

Answering the same question, Grok 3 told HT that its parent company, xAI, does not specify how long images are retained and data “could be vulnerable to breaches.” It also pointed out that unless you opt out, images may be used to improve the AI tools.

Grok added that misuse may not be intentional, but users should best avoid uploading photos with sensitive details. 

“Grok 3’s security measures are likely decent (xAI isn’t a fly-by-night operation), and the fun of seeing yourself as a Ghibli character might outweigh the worry. But if privacy’s a priority, especially with photos of people who haven’t consented, you’re rolling the dice,” it ended.