Google AI Allegedly Leaks Game Character Name from Private Google Doc
An indie game developer alleges that Google's AI system revealed an unreleased character name from their upcoming game that existed only in a private Google Doc, after a player queried the AI in the game's Discord server. Google responded that it does not scan private Workspace content for AI training and suggested the information may have been indexed from a public source.
What happened
A solo game developer at Klub Kofta Studio alleges that Google's AI revealed the unreleased character name 'Vantage Tripod' from their upcoming Operation Octo update to a player who queried it in the game's Discord server. The developer stated the character name existed only in a private Google Doc file and had never been shared publicly or with the AI.
A player in the game's Discord server asked Google's search AI "silly questions" about the game and received obscure information about unreleased content. When asked specifically about a future, unannounced character, the AI provided the exact character name 'Vantage Tripod', which the developer confirmed had never been mentioned to anyone and appeared nowhere in game files, code, serialized data, or Steam.
Reported impact
The developer reported that the AI leak exposed confidential game content that was restricted to a private document, potentially compromising the commercial value of unreleased game updates and character reveals.
Index analysis
Google stated it does not scan private Workspace content including Drive and Docs to train foundational AI models. Google noted that links to publicly shared docs may be indexed if posted publicly where search engine crawlers could access them, and that users control sharing settings for Drive content.
Governance controls
Google pointed to user controls over sharing settings for Drive and Docs as a privacy safeguard, and stated the specific character name was not in publicly shared documents and should not have been indexed.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.