Do AI Detectors Save Your Work? - An Independent Analysis

As we all know, AI detectors have become something that many schools, publishers, and businesses rely on these days. However, a big question lingers: do these AI detectors keep a copy of your essays, manuscripts, or unpublished drafts? The short answer is yes for most of them, and the longer answer is that the devil lies in the details. In this post, let’s dive into why this matters, what each tool does with your content, and one final opinion from me at the end.

Context & Why Privacy Matters

Many students, freelancers, and authors are concerned that once their work is uploaded to an AI detector, it might end up stored in a database forever. This is a real concern because your intellectual property could leave your control when you paste it into some AI text checker’s website. Just imagine if your draft gets exposed, reused, or even sold to third parties—no one wants that.

There was even a legal fiasco in Maryland (in the US) where a school used a third-party AI detector without telling students, and it caused heaps of trouble. This underscores the importance of reading a tool’s privacy policy or at least checking what kind of data they keep and for how long.

GPTZero

GPTZero is created by Edward Tian, a Princeton graduate. It is often used by teachers to detect if a student’s written work was AI-generated.

• Web Interface: If you use the GPTZero web interface (sometimes referred to as “dashboard”), it does store your submitted text in aggregate form so they can improve their AI detector.
• API: Interestingly, if you use GPTZero via an API (meaning you have your own API key and do calls programmatically), then it does NOT store or collect your text at all.
• They have SOC 2 certification and are FERPA-compliant for student data, which is a good sign. They also pledge not to use your text to train their AI models unless you explicitly grant permission.

Turnitin

Turnitin is one of the biggest names out there when it comes to plagiarism and now AI detection.

• Storage Policy: By default, everything you submit to Turnitin is stored permanently in their global database. Your institution might be able to opt out, but individual students usually cannot.
• Once your work is in their database, Turnitin gets a perpetual, royalty-free license to it. So yes, they basically own your submissions for eternity.

Originality.ai

Originality.ai is a paid tool mainly used by web publishers and digital marketers for SEO or content management.

• Default Setting: They keep an anonymized version of your text for model training. It’s encrypted, but it’s still stored.
• Opt-Out: You can disable data usage for training in your account settings. Also, you can delete your scan history at any time, which is nice.
• They don’t sell or disclose your content and are relatively transparent about their data policies. The CEO, Jonathan Gillham, has a YouTube video explaining their stance on security and privacy.

ZeroGPT

ZeroGPT is a free online AI-detector that, ironically, many people confuse with GPTZero. They claim no permanent storage, that your text is deleted after scanning, and everything is encrypted. They also say they comply with GDPR.

But here is the twist: Some industry analysis from 2025 labeled ZeroGPT as the “most aggressive” in storing user data. Even GPTZero’s founder criticized them for the lack of transparency.

So, is it storing your text or not? No one truly knows. They don’t have a robust or clear privacy disclosure, which is a red flag. It’s definitely not recommended to paste sensitive or unpublished works into ZeroGPT.

Copyleaks

Copyleaks is used by educational institutions, publishers, and businesses. They hold certifications like PCI-DSS, SOC 2, SOC 3, and comply with GDPR.

• Storage & Usage: By default, your uploaded text is stored as “Customer Data” and could be used to improve their systems unless you or your institution choose to opt out.
• Enterprise clients can more easily turn off data usage for AI training or even use private-cloud/on-premises deployment to keep the data in-house. Individual users can contact Copyleaks support for an opt-out, which is a bit of a hassle.
• They offer a “Hide Sensitive Data” feature that masks personal info.

Sapling.ai

Sapling.ai is mostly an AI writing assistant and grammar checker. They also have an AI-content detector add-on.

• They state that all text you enter might be stored and used to improve Sapling. They do not mention an explicit user opt-out for training.
• From a security standpoint, they claim your data is encrypted in transit and at rest. They only do a manual review if they suspect abuse or something similar. They have enterprise plans that allow for private-cloud or on-premises deployment, giving you more control.

The Nuts & Bolts: Who Stores Your Work?

Below is a quick comparision (yes, spelled incorrectly to mimic typical mistakes) of some well-known AI detectors and their data storage policies. This is not an exhaustive list and is purely for reference:

Best Practices to Protect Your Work

• Check Privacy Policies: Don’t skip the fine print. Look for explicit statements on data usage and storage.
• Use Opt-Out Options: Whenever a tool offers an opt-out from data usage or training, do it. Also, if there’s an option to remove or delete scan histories, take advantage of that.
• Avoid Unknown/Free Services: If you have highly confidential or unpublished content, do not paste it into random free AI detectors, especially the ones lacking a clear privacy policy.
• Consider APIs or On-Premises Tools: Some detectors, like GPTZero API or Copyleaks in a private-cloud, let you keep all data in your own environment.
• Educators Should Inform Students: If you’re a teacher, please let your students know which tool you’re using, and ensure you are aware of privacy regulations (like FERPA in the US or GDPR in Europe).
• Stay Updated: Policies may change, so always give the privacy policy another read from time to time.

The Bottom Line

In my opinion, AI detectors don’t offer you any tangible benefits to pay for them, especially when they use your data to train their AI models. Some of them let you opt out, but ironically, it would have been far better if they had an opt-in by default. All these tools also have decent rates of false-positives, and none of them will compensate you if you suffer because the detector got it wrong.

It’s better if you simply stop using these tools and invest your energy in writing your own original content without having to worry about them. If you must use an AI checker, at least choose one that respects your privacy and put your data where you can control it. That’s the only way to ensure your brilliant ideas remain truly yours.