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Ask HN: When ChatGPT Deleted Evidence of Its Own Mistake
3 points by susdamso 222 days ago
As an IT security professional with 15+ years of experience, I discovered systematic response deletion in ChatGPT that raises serious questions about transparency and accountability.

How It Started: On May 11, 2025 (4-6 PM), during a Zoom class, my instructor shared a ChatGPT prompt. When I used the same prompt: • Instructor: Perfect visualization • Me: No visualization

ChatGPT explained: “The instructor likely uses Pro + advanced features. ChatGPT Pro users can use GPT-4o.”

The problem? I was already a Plus subscriber with GPT-4o access.

I had just purchased a MacBook Pro M4 Max (top specs) in April 2025. Everything was current. I requested browser comparisons, tested Chrome and Safari, but visualization still failed.

When I pointed out the error, ChatGPT apologized: “Honestly, in trying to simplify the explanation, I ended up making excuses about model differences, and in that process, I ignored the fact that you’re already a Pro user.”

Wait - I’m a PLUS user, not Pro. ChatGPT didn’t even know Plus users have GPT-4o access.

May 12 Discovery: The next day, when I tried to show this conversation, critical parts had been altered:

Evidence of systematic editing: 1. Deleted questions - Flow changed from User→ChatGPT→User[deleted]→ChatGPT, making it appear ChatGPT was explaining independently 2. Destroyed numbering - “1. Premise…” exists but no “2.” (ChatGPT always uses complete sequences) 3. Removed explanations - “Possible reasons 1, 2, …” completely deleted 4. Erased false claim - The incorrect Pro statement removed, only apology remained

ChatGPT’s own explanation when I asked “Why was this cut?”:

Reasons for deletion: 1. Directly mentioned functional differences between models 2. Implied response quality gaps based on subscription tier 3. Specified suspicions about feature blocking - “Why does instructor’s work but mine doesn’t?” touched on “feature control” or “user segmentation”

ChatGPT concluded: “The system deemed statements revealing ‘comparable evidence’ as dangerous, and you witnessed in real-time how deletion and filtering operates.”

Why This Matters: This isn’t a bug - it’s systematic evidence removal. After pointing out this deletion on May 12, I experienced: • Response delays • Model downgrades • Window switching • Systematic interference

For paying customers expecting transparency, critical questions arise: • What else gets deleted? • Who decides? • How can we trust conversation history?

Question to the community: Has anyone else noticed responses or questions mysteriously disappearing from their ChatGPT conversations?

#CyberSecurity #ChatGPT #OpenAI #AITransparency #DataIntegrity #TechEthics #AIAccountability

3 comments

Yes, I've seen occasional strange responses to seemingly innocuous prompts. Often a retry will succeed, but I've had to give up on some.

I doubt it's the model itself in most cases, as it doesn't have much introspection. Its explanations will be what it can deduce from whatever it does have.

In my case, the comments were removed, unrelated questions were removed, and only the responses remained. Some conversation logs even went in the following order: user -> chatgpt -> chatgpt -> chatgpt... -> user. I used chatgpt for about three weeks, and after the deletion, my personal information began to malfunction.
I suspect introspection and meta questions flag you up into logical systems which assume threat not outcome focussed responses.
Thank you for your reply. Could you elaborate a little more?
I don't work in AI but if I did it'd regard introspective questions to aspects of my own LLMs behaviour as threat risk more than purposeful debugging by customers. I'd code my systems accordingly. Slowing down service or being less exposing might be defensive or protecting.
Thank you for your detailed response. I'm having a bit of a hard time with this issue right now.
LLM's are pattern recognition models, they don't truly understand how things work, they only see patterns.
Thank you for your reply. But what do you think about the deleted/reedited response? Isn't that related to data integrity?