Perplexity AI accused of sharing users’ personal data with Meta and Google

SAN FRANCISCO - Perplexity AI was accused in a lawsuit of surreptitiously sharing the personal information of its users with Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google in violation of California privacy laws.

As soon as users log into Perplexity’s home page, trackers are downloaded onto their devices, giving Meta and Google full access to the conversations between them and Perplexity’s AI Machine search engine, according to the proposed class-action complaint filed on March 31 in federal court in San Francisco.

This allows Meta and Google “to exploit this sensitive date for their own benefit, including targeting individuals with advertising and reselling their sensitive data to additional third parties”, according to the complaint.

Users’ personal data is shared even when they sign up for Perplexity’s “Incognito” mode, according to the complaint.

The suit was filed on behalf of a Utah man, identified only as John Doe, who seeks to represent a class of Perplexity users.

According to the suit, the man shared information about his family’s finances, his tax obligations, his investment portfolio and strategies with Perplexity’s chatbot.

Perplexity embedded “undetectable” tracking software into the search engine’s code that automatically transmits users’ conversations to Meta, Google and other third parties, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit also targets Meta and Google, accusing them of violating federal and state computer privacy and fraud laws.

A Meta spokesperson pointed to a Facebook help page, which says it is against the tech giant’s rules for advertisers to send the company sensitive information.  

“We have not been served any lawsuit that matches this description, so we are unable to verify its existence or claims,” said Perplexity spokesman Jesse Dwyer.

Representatives of Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG