On April 30, 2026, OpenAI automatically activated marketing cookies for free-tier ChatGPT users, sharing limited identifiers—cookie IDs and email addresses—with advertising partners to run cross-site retargeting on platforms like Instagram. Paid subscribers (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise) are not affected, and conversation content is explicitly excluded from what is shared. Users can opt out under Settings > Data Controls > Marketing Privacy in the app or via "Your Privacy Choices" on the website. The change follows OpenAI's introduction of ads inside ChatGPT in February 2026 and reflects the economics of a user base that is more than 90% free-tier.