March 31, 2025: OpenAI’s latest innovation, a Ghibli-style image generator, has taken social media by storm. The tool allows users to transform their photos into stunning artwork reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s iconic animation style, made famous by Hayao Miyazaki. From politicians and celebrities to everyday users, everyone’s sharing their AI-generated portraits, making it a viral sensation.

However, not everyone is on board with this trend. The digital privacy activists are sounding the alarm, warning that OpenAI might be using this feature to collect thousands of personal images for AI training. This raises serious privacy concerns, as users may unknowingly be handling over their facial data.

When users upload their images, they give OpenAI consent to process them, as stated by Luiza Jarovsky, co-founder of AI, Tech and Privacy Academy. This gives OpenAI more freedom to use the images, and the company hasn’t issued a statement on the safety of personal data for users of the Ghibli style AI image art version.

ChatGPT itself warns users that uploading personal photos to any AI tool isn’t safe, unless they are certain about the tool’s privacy policies and data handling practices. OpenAI claims it doesn’t use or retain images beyond the immediate session, but it’s always best to avoid sharing sensitive or personal images with AI services.