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If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#151

Post by irishcoffee »

martinwoodward wrote: post #43

No we won’t. Details here https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/updates-to-gi... For users of Free, Pro and Pro+ Copilot, if you don’t opt out then we will start collecting usage data of Copilot for use in model training. If you are a subscriber for Business or Pro we do not train on usage. The blog post covers more details but we do not train on private repo data at rest, just interaction data with Copilot.…

I am aware of CUI data hosted on github by corporate entities. You’re saying you’ll essentially violate the entire point of CUI?

That’s fucking terrifying.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#152

Post by pistoriusp »

tptacek wrote: post #96
jffry wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's unnecessarily splitting hairs. > interaction data—specifically inputs, outputs, code snippets, and associated context [...] will be used to train and improve our AI models So using Copilot in a private repo, where lots of that repo will be used as context for Copilot, means GitHub will be using your private repo as training data when they were not before.

No it isn't. Most people don't use Copilot, so this term change won't effect most people. You can reasonably be unhappy about it anyways (or unreasonably still be using Copilot in 2026), but it's still ultra-useful information for them to add to the discussion.

I don't use copilot, but somehow was subscribed... I probably clicked something long ago and it just remained active.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#153

Post by DougN7 »

slowhadoken wrote: post #122
kepano wrote: post #12

I've been saying this since 2023 > If your data is stored in a database that a company can freely read and access (i.e. not end-to-end encrypted), the company will eventually update their ToS so they can use your data for AI training — the incentives are too strong to resist https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37124188

I’m still concerned about MS using the code I write on my laptop to train AI. Tinfoil hat wearing Linux users are starting to make a lot of sense to me.

I thought that’s more what the CoPilot change is really about - not your repo, but all the code CoPilot read while it is offering helpful completions, etc - so literally the code on your laptop. I cancelled my account.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#154

Post by b112 »

slowhadoken wrote: post #122
kepano wrote: post #12

I've been saying this since 2023 > If your data is stored in a database that a company can freely read and access (i.e. not end-to-end encrypted), the company will eventually update their ToS so they can use your data for AI training — the incentives are too strong to resist https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37124188

I’m still concerned about MS using the code I write on my laptop to train AI. Tinfoil hat wearing Linux users are starting to make a lot of sense to me.

It's not tinfoil, it's aluminum foil. I.. I mean, I heard it's that.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#155

Post by mrled »

I'm curious about specific consequences of this. I tend to think the importance of code secrecy has always been exaggerated (there are specific exceptions like hedge fund strategies and malware), even more so now in this post-Claude world. Does anyone have specific things they're trying to avoid by opting out of this?

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#156

Post by bigstrat2003 »

kristianp wrote: post #5

What's a good alternative for free private repos?

I use Fossil for mine. Dead easy to set up, and while the workflow might not be great for public contributions like Github is, that doesn't matter on something where I'm the only user.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#157

Post by dotancohen »

lanxevo3 wrote: post #9

[flagged]

  > takes 30 seconds.
No, it takes an hour of perusing HN every day to stumble upon this. That's 20 hours per month, 240 hours per year, shall I bill it to GitHub or to Microsoft directly?

Corrupting Steinmetz' quip to Ford: it's 30 seconds to flip the switch, 240 hours to know that a switch needs to be flipped.

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#158

Post by [deleted] »

moralestapia wrote: post #92
kepano wrote: post #12

I've been saying this since 2023 > If your data is stored in a database that a company can freely read and access (i.e. not end-to-end encrypted), the company will eventually update their ToS so they can use your data for AI training — the incentives are too strong to resist https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37124188

Thank you for your service. We really need more "canaries in the mine" giving out early warnings of things that might not be evident on a first glance. Any takes on what 2029 will look like? (related to this topic, ofc)

[deleted]

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#159

Post by languid-photic »

martinwoodward wrote: post #43

No we won’t. Details here https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/updates-to-gi... For users of Free, Pro and Pro+ Copilot, if you don’t opt out then we will start collecting usage data of Copilot for use in model training. If you are a subscriber for Business or Pro we do not train on usage. The blog post covers more details but we do not train on private repo data at rest, just interaction data with Copilot.…

Appreciate the clarification. But, it's still not great.

To the PM behind this - developers are sensitive to this kind of thing. Just make it opt-in instead?

Re: If you don't opt out by Apr 24 GitHub will train on your private repos

#160

Post by lkbm »

nottorp wrote: post #114
hedayet wrote: post #25

To Github's credit, they have been showing a banner consistently. To my discredit - I never bothered to read that banner until I saw this HN headline

How does that help if you don't go to the github site but just use git from the command line?

They also sent an email.
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