Instinct AI Assistant Reportedly Retained User Data After Account Disconnection
Instinct, an AI personal assistant in private testing, reportedly retained user data from connected accounts even after users disconnected them, according to its Terms of Service. The system granted the company broad rights to use user materials for training unless users opted out or requested deletion.
What happened
Instinct, an invite-only AI personal assistant operated by Spear Street Technology, reportedly retained indexed data from connected services even after users disconnected those accounts. According to Instinct's Terms of Service as of September 2, 2026, the company stated it "may still use the indexed Connected Service Input data unless you follow the instructions to request deletion."
Reported impact
Users who disconnected accounts from Instinct could not automatically remove previously ingested information from the system. This prevented users from controlling what happened to their data once disconnected from the service.
Index analysis
The incident reflects a default privacy setting where data persists after account disconnection unless users explicitly request deletion. The terms also granted Instinct a broad "perpetual and irrevocable" license to "access, use, host, cache, store, reproduce, transmit, display, publish, distribute, and modify" user materials, including for training AI models, unless users proactively opted out.
Governance controls
Instinct offered users a protected "Vault" feature and an opt-out mechanism at app.instinct.co/settings to prevent data from being used for AI training. However, the default settings allowed data sharing, requiring users to take affirmative steps to protect their information.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.