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OpenAI has acknowledged a data exposure tied to a third-party analytics provider, warning that some customers who use the company’s API may have had account-related details leaked. If you only use ChatGPT for personal conversations, OpenAI says your data was not affected.
What happened and who is affected?
According to OpenAI’s blog post and customer emails, the incident stems from a breach at Mixpanel, an analytics vendor used by many platforms. Mixpanel discovered unauthorized access on November 9, 2025, and later shared a dataset with OpenAI on November 25. OpenAI began notifying impacted API customers the following day.
The company emphasized that this exposure only affects users with accounts that access OpenAI’s API endpoints. Personal ChatGPT users’ chats and account data were not part of the leaked dataset.
What types of data may have been exposed?
OpenAI says the leaked records may include basic account and connection metadata for API customers, including:
- User name and email address
- Approximate geographic location
- Operating system and browser used to access the site
- Referring websites and organization or user IDs associated with API accounts
The company has asserted that no other customer data was disclosed beyond these items.
Why this matters and what to watch for
Even though the exposed fields are mainly metadata, OpenAI warns API account holders to be extra vigilant. Contact details and device metadata can increase the risk of targeted phishing or social-engineering attacks.
OpenAI stresses that it will never ask for passwords, API keys, or verification codes via email or chat. If you receive suspicious messages claiming to be from OpenAI, treat them as potential phishing attempts.
Practical steps for API users
If you administer an API account, consider these immediate actions:
- Rotate any exposed or potentially exposed API keys and secrets.
- Enable multi-factor authentication where possible and enforce strong password policies.
- Review recent access logs for unusual activity and restrict key scopes or IP ranges.
- Train staff to recognize phishing attempts and verify any unusual requests through official channels.
- Contact OpenAI support if you believe your account has been targeted or compromised.
OpenAI closed its statement with a reassurance about its priorities: "Trust, security, and privacy are foundational to our products, organization, and mission," and pledged to notify all impacted customers directly. For API users, the breach is a reminder that third-party integrations can create additional risk vectors and that proactive security hygiene matters.
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