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# Is it safe to paste code into ChatGPT or Claude? What to check first

By Dehumanize14 November 20262 min read

## In short

- Most code is fine, the risk is secrets, test data and rules.
- Paste the function, not the repository.
- Scrub keys and personal data first.

Developers paste code into AI chats all day, and most of it is harmless. The risk is in what travels with the code: secrets, customer data in test fixtures and code you are not allowed to share.

## Check these first

- **Secrets.** API keys, tokens, passwords and private keys in the file or in a nearby config. Search for them before you paste.
- **Connection strings.** They often hold a username and a password in one line.
- **Test data.** Fixtures and sample requests sometimes contain real emails, names or order numbers copied from production.
- **Internal addresses.** Hostnames and URLs tell outsiders how your systems are laid out.
- **Rules.** Your employer or client may have a policy about sharing source code with outside services, and a licence may limit what you can do with third party code.

## A safer routine

1. Paste only the function or the error, not the whole repository.
2. Replace secrets and personal data with placeholders, and keep the same placeholder for the same value.
3. Check your account settings for training and retention.
4. If a key was pasted by mistake, treat it as exposed. See [what to do now](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/leaked-api-key-in-ai-chat/).

## Make it a habit

[Scrub for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/scrub-for-ai/) detects common key formats, passwords in assignments, bearer tokens, connection strings and personal data, and replaces them with placeholders on your own computer. With Paste Guard (Pro) you can have text cleaned at the moment you paste it into the AI sites you choose.

### Scrub before you paste

Scrub for AI replaces emails, phone numbers, IBANs, API keys and passwords with placeholders in one click, and puts them back when the answer returns. Free, runs offline, no account.

[Add to Chrome, free](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/scrub-for-ai-hide-persona/madopcokggkmjlmbiifobacolinpabbg) [Try it online](https://dehumanize.eu/scrub/)

[Read nextYou pasted an API key into an AI chat. What to do now](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/leaked-api-key-in-ai-chat/) [Read nextHow to share logs and stack traces with AI without leaking secrets](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/share-logs-with-ai-safely/)

More: [all guides](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/) · [Scrub for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/scrub-for-ai/) · [Copy for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/copy-for-ai/) · [Tables for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/tables-for-ai/)

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Source: https://dehumanize.eu/guides/is-it-safe-to-paste-code-into-chatgpt/
Summary: Code is often fine to share, but not always. A short checklist for secrets, licences and company rules before you paste source code into an AI chat.
Publisher: Dehumanize, support@dehumanize.eu