GitHub Copilot will train on your code unless you tell it not to

Posted: 27 April 2026 · Category: Coding & Development

On 24 April GitHub updated its Copilot data policy: interaction data from Free, Pro, and Pro+ plans is now used to train models unless the user opts out. Business and Enterprise plans are excluded — their data stays protected under contractual agreements.

What changed

Until now, individual Copilot users weren't part of the training pipeline by default. The new policy flips that default. "Interaction data" is the material generated as you work with Copilot — and if you're on an individual plan, it now flows into model training until you actively switch it off in your settings.

The split matters: organisations on Business and Enterprise keep their contractual protections and are untouched. The change lands entirely on individuals — freelancers, contractors, solo developers, and anyone using a personal Copilot plan for work.

What it means for Australians

Plenty of Australian developers use a personal Copilot subscription on client work. If that's you, this is a default you need to know flipped. Client code, proprietary logic, and anything else in your working context deserves a deliberate decision, not a silent one — and under the Privacy Act, "I didn't know the setting changed" is not a position you want to explain to a client.

The fix takes a minute: open your GitHub Copilot settings and check the model-training option. If you handle client or commercial code on an individual plan, opt out today. If your work is open source and you're comfortable contributing interactions, leave it on — but make it a choice.

It's also a one-line argument for the Business tier: from this week, the contractual data exclusion is a concrete difference, not enterprise theatre.

What we're watching

Whether the opt-out holds as the clear, single setting it is today, and how this shifts the privacy comparison across the AI coding tools. It will weigh on any future assessment of Copilot for Australian professional use.

Sources

• GitHub — Updates to GitHub Copilot interaction data usage policy (24 April 2026): https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/updates-to-github-copilot-interaction-data-usage-policy/ (primary) [Wayback snapshot TBC]

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