GitHub Copilot Will Train on Your Code Starting April 24 – Here's How to Opt Out

GitHub just dropped a significant update to its data policy, and honestly, it's the kind of news that deserves your attention. Starting April 24, 2026, the company will be using interaction data from Copilot users to train its AI models. If you're a Copilot Free, Pro, or Pro+ subscriber, this is going to affect you – unless you actively opt out.

The announcement has already stirred up considerable discussion across developer communities on Hacker News and Reddit, with concerns ranging from privacy implications to the ethical questions around using proprietary code for model training. So let's break down exactly what's happening, what data GitHub is collecting, who's exempt, and most importantly, how you can take control of your own data.

The Big Change

GitHub's new policy represents a shift in how the company approaches AI model improvement. Previously, interaction data was more limited in scope. Now, GitHub is taking a much broader approach to data collection from users who rely on Copilot for their coding work.

Here's the thing – GitHub isn't being sneaky about it. The company has been transparent that this is coming, but the scale and scope of the data collection might surprise you. Starting April 24, every Copilot interaction you have is potentially going to be used to make the AI models smarter.

For developers who've been hesitant about using AI coding assistants, this might be the final straw. For others who trust GitHub's intentions, it might feel like a reasonable trade-off. Either way, you deserve to understand exactly what's on the table.

What Data Is GitHub Actually Collecting?

Let's get specific, because "interaction data" can mean a lot of different things. GitHub will be collecting the following information from your Copilot sessions:

• Code snippets – The actual code fragments you write or that Copilot suggests
• Completions and outputs – The full suggestions and generated code that the AI produces
• Context information – Variables, function signatures, and surrounding code that helps Copilot understand your intent
• Comments – Any documentation or notes you've written
• Filenames and repository structure – The names of your files and how your project is organized
• Interaction patterns – How you use Copilot, including when you accept or reject suggestions
• User feedback – Your reactions to suggestions, whether you thumbed something up or down

Now here's the part that might actually be reassuring: GitHub is explicitly saying that private repository source code at rest is NOT being used for training. So if you have private repos sitting on GitHub, the actual code files themselves aren't being hoovered up for analysis. However, the moment you start using Copilot within those repos, the interaction data is fair game.

Data Type	Collected	Used for Training	Notes
Code snippets from interactions	Yes	Yes	Generated during Copilot use only
Private repo source code at rest	No	No	Not accessed unless actively using Copilot
Completion suggestions	Yes	Yes	AI outputs that the model generated
Comments and documentation	Yes	Yes	Contextual information from your code
Filenames and directory structure	Yes	Yes	Metadata about your project organization
Rejected suggestions	Yes	Yes	Even "no thanks" feedback helps train models
User location/IP data	Limited	Limited	Only what's necessary for service operation

Who's Actually Exempt?

Not everyone is affected by this policy change, and that's important to understand. GitHub has carved out several categories of users who won't have their Copilot data used for training:

Business and Enterprise customers are completely exempt. If you're using Copilot through a GitHub Business or Enterprise account, your data is off limits for training purposes. This is a significant distinction – it means larger organizations can continue using Copilot without contributing to model training if they don't want to.

Students and teachers are also protected. GitHub has long had an educational program, and they're maintaining that commitment by excluding academic users from this data usage policy.

This creates an interesting dynamic. The developers most affected are solo developers, small teams, and open-source contributors using Copilot Free or Pro – the people who are often most invested in the open-source ecosystem and most concerned about their code being used to train commercial AI models.

The Community Reaction

The internet has opinions about this, and they're pretty strong. Hacker News filled up with threads discussing the implications, with many developers expressing concern about GitHub effectively collecting their work without explicit ongoing consent. Reddit's programming communities saw similar conversations, with the tone ranging from disappointed to outright angry.

"This feels like GitHub is cashing in on our collective work. We built open source in good faith, and now our contributions are being used to train proprietary AI models that we're then charged to use." – Common sentiment from community discussions

The frustration is understandable. Many developers feel like there's an implicit understanding that their open-source work supports the broader community, not that it becomes training data for a commercial product. Others point out that GitHub itself is owned by Microsoft, a company with significant AI interests, which adds another layer of complexity to the situation.

That said, some developers see this as an acceptable trade-off. "I already use Copilot and find it valuable," one developer commented. "If my usage data helps make it better, I'm fine with that." It's not universally negative – but the concerns are definitely legitimate.

How to Opt Out

If you don't want your Copilot interaction data used for training, GitHub has made it relatively straightforward to opt out. You don't have to stop using Copilot entirely; you just need to change your settings.

Here's how to do it:

1. Sign in to GitHub and go to your account settings
2. Navigate to the Data and privacy section (or look for Copilot settings specifically)
3. Find the option for "Copilot interaction data" or similar phrasing
4. Toggle off the option to use your data for training
5. Save your changes

The exact interface might vary slightly depending on whether you're using the web interface or a specific IDE integration, but the principle is the same – look for your Copilot settings and disable data usage for training.

One thing to note: opting out is possible right now, before April 24. GitHub is giving developers a window to make this choice before the policy officially takes effect. Don't wait until the last minute if this matters to you.

What This Means for the Future

This policy change is part of a larger trend in the AI industry. Companies are constantly looking for more data to train better models, and they're mining every available source. GitHub's move makes sense from a business perspective – Copilot usage data is incredibly valuable for improving the AI models that power the service.

But it also raises questions about the relationship between developers and the platforms we rely on. When you use Copilot, are you consenting to model training? Should you have to opt out rather than opt in? These are philosophical questions without clear answers, but they're worth thinking about.

The fact that Business and Enterprise customers are exempt, while individual developers aren't, also sends a message. It suggests that GitHub recognizes the concern is real enough that they're willing to exempt paying enterprise customers – which might be a sign that you should consider your own value more carefully.

For open-source developers specifically, there's an additional consideration. If you're contributing code to public repositories and using Copilot to do so, you might be inadvertently feeding proprietary AI training with work you intended to keep open and free. That's not necessarily wrong, but it's worth being aware of.

The Bottom Line

GitHub's decision to use Copilot interaction data for AI training is a significant policy shift that affects millions of developers. The company has been transparent about it, given advance notice, and provided an opt-out mechanism – which is more than some tech companies do.

But transparency and technical options only matter if you actually use them. If you have concerns about your data, take thirty minutes this week to change your settings. If you're comfortable with the trade-off, you can leave everything as is. Either way, make it an informed choice rather than a default assumption.

April 24 isn't that far away. The time to decide is now.