Claude: what the sources say
Anthropic · United States
Profile last reviewed 29 May 2026. This record reflects the guide as published; check tautoru.ai/ai/tools/claude for the current version.
What this record is. A dated summary of what Anthropic’s own terms and the applicable New Zealand rules say about putting different kinds of information into Claude, on each of its plans. Each entry links to the primary source it is drawn from.
What it is not. It is not legal advice, and it is not a certificate that any particular use is safe or approved. It records what the sources say; whether a given use is appropriate for your matter is your own judgment, on your own facts, and — where the stakes warrant it — a question for you and your own advisers. The colours summarise sources; they are not Tautoru’s permission.
The position, by kind of information
1. Public information
Material already published to the world and under no restriction: reported case law, statutes and regulations, regulator and government guidance, public company filings, and published writing. One caveat decides the edge cases — information being publicly available does not take it outside the Privacy Act. A public register full of named individuals is still personal information; treat bulk or re-identifiable personal data as category 5, not as category 1.
Public information carries no confidentiality or privacy constraint. On any consumer plan (Free, Pro or Max — they are treated the same) Anthropic's terms permit its use; the only live question is accuracy, not data handling.
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026)
No confidentiality or privacy constraint; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
No confidentiality or privacy constraint; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
No confidentiality or privacy constraint; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
2. Internal non-confidential
Material that is neither public nor commercially confidential, and not about any identifiable person: blank templates and precedents, general know-how, and truly hypothetical scenarios.
Low-sensitivity internal material with no confidentiality or privacy constraint; permitted on default consumer settings.
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026)
Low-sensitivity internal material; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
Low-sensitivity internal material; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
Low-sensitivity internal material; the Commercial Terms permit use and do not train on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
3. Internal confidential (non-privileged)
Confidential information that is not legally privileged — whether it is your customer’s, client’s or a third party’s. It covers client identity and retainer terms, deal and business information, and anything imparted in confidence (by contract, by undertaking, or by the circumstances). If the material is also privileged, use category 4; if you are unsure whether it is confidential, treat it as if it is.
Free, Pro and Max are treated the same here — paying for Claude buys more usage, not different data protections. The protection comes from the model-training toggle in Privacy Settings (available on the free plan too): turn it off and new chats are not used for training and retention drops to 30 days; leave it on and they may train models with up to five-year retention. Either way it remains a personal account: no DPA (Data Processing Agreement/Addendum), and safety-flagged chats may be human-reviewed. Internal-confidential material needs the client's authority; for anything sensitive, a commercial plan is the cleaner answer. Your duty of confidence (Conduct rules, ch 8) governs.
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026); How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? (as at 30 May 2026); How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? (as at 30 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
Under the Commercial Terms Anthropic does not train on inputs, so the principal constraint is your duty of confidence to the client (Conduct rules, ch 8) — obtain authority or use adequate safeguards. Note Team offers no data-retention control.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
No training on inputs; Enterprise adds retention controls and audit logs. The duty of confidence still requires client authority or adequate safeguards.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans (as at 30 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
No training on inputs; suitable for engineered workflows configured for zero retention. The duty of confidence still requires client authority or adequate safeguards.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
4. Legally privileged
Material attracting legal advice privilege or litigation privilege — a subset of confidential information, and the most protected. Privilege belongs to the client, not the lawyer. Whether putting it into a third-party tool affects privilege turns on confidentiality and waiver, addressed in each tool profile and in our guidance; it is not a foregone conclusion. Whether a given document is privileged at all is a question for a qualified lawyer — the safe course is precautionary: if it could be privileged, proceed as if it is.
Amber across Free, Pro and Max alike — paying does not change the data position. With the model-training toggle off (available on every consumer plan) it becomes workable — no training, 30-day retention — though a personal consumer account still has no DPA and safety-flagged chats may be human-reviewed, so confidentiality is not guaranteed; for privileged material a commercial plan is cleaner. (Confidential use does not itself waive privilege — see our guidance on privilege; the issue is maintaining confidentiality in fact.)
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026); How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? (as at 30 May 2026); How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? (as at 30 May 2026); Evidence Act 2006, s 65 (Waiver) (as at 29 May 2026)
The Commercial Terms mean no training on inputs, so confidential use does not waive privilege (Evidence Act s 65; B v Auckland District Law Society). Amber, not green, because Team gives no retention control and no audit log — for privileged material prefer Enterprise or an API zero-retention workflow. Duty of confidence (ch 8) applies to lawyers.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Evidence Act 2006, s 65 (Waiver) (as at 29 May 2026); B v Auckland District Law Society [2003] UKPC 38, [2003] 2 AC 736 (as at 29 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
No training on inputs; confidential use does not waive privilege (Evidence Act s 65; B v ADLS). Enterprise lets you cap retention and audit access — what maintaining confidentiality in fact calls for. A deliberate firm protocol and client authority remain advisable.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans (as at 30 May 2026); Evidence Act 2006, s 65 (Waiver) (as at 29 May 2026); B v Auckland District Law Society [2003] UKPC 38, [2003] 2 AC 736 (as at 29 May 2026)
No training on inputs; can be configured for zero retention. Confidential use does not waive privilege (Evidence Act s 65; B v ADLS). An engineered-workflow plan with no product-level safeguards — the controls are yours to build.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Evidence Act 2006, s 65 (Waiver) (as at 29 May 2026); B v Auckland District Law Society [2003] UKPC 38, [2003] 2 AC 736 (as at 29 May 2026)
5. Personal information (Privacy Act 2020)
Personal information means any data about an identifiable living individual. Explicit names are not required. Contextual details alone can identify a client, witness, or opposing party. Inputting this data into AI tools can trigger strict compliance rules. Under Section 11 of the Privacy Act 2020, sending personal data to an overseas cloud service provider solely for processing or safe custody on your behalf is not usually treated as a “disclosure”. You remain responsible for it. The moment an AI provider’s terms allow them to use your inputs for their own purposes (such as training their models), it becomes an official disclosure to an overseas agency, and can trigger information privacy principle 12.
Sending personal information to a US provider can be a cross-border disclosure under IPP 12 — permitted only with comparable safeguards or the person's informed permission. Free, Pro and Max are the same here; the model-training toggle (off, on any plan) limits training and retention, and means the offshore provider is not using the data for its own purposes.
Sources: Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026); How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? (as at 30 May 2026); How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? (as at 30 May 2026)
Cross-border disclosure risk under IPP 12 — ensure the offshore provider is not using the data for its own purposes. No training on inputs under the Commercial Terms.
Sources: Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
Cross-border risks under IPP 12; a DPA plus retention controls support the comparable-safeguards test. No training on inputs means the offshore provider is not using the data for its own purposes.
Sources: Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans (as at 30 May 2026)
Cross-border under IPP 12; a zero-retention configuration and the Commercial Terms support compliance. No training on inputs means the offshore provider is not using the data for its own purposes.
Sources: Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026)
6. Sensitive personal information
Personal information whose misuse carries a heightened risk of harm. New Zealand’s Privacy Act does not define a separate “sensitive” class as the GDPR does in Europe, but in practice this material warrants extra care, senior approval and a privacy impact assessment: health and mental-health information, biometric data (a Biometric Processing Privacy Code applies from 3 August 2026), financial details, criminal history, and information about ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation or immigration status. Health information in particular requires a significantly higher standard of protection than ordinary personal information.
Amber on Free, Pro and Max alike. With the model-training toggle off (available on every consumer plan), sensitive personal information can be handled with care, though a personal account offers no DPA and retains human safety-review, so a commercial plan is preferable for material this sensitive. Cross-border IPP 12 also a risk.
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026); How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? (as at 30 May 2026); How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
No training on inputs, but Team has no retention control or audit and no BAA (Business Associate Agreement, a type of contract used in the US to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), a strong caveat for health and other sensitive data. Prefer Enterprise (HIPAA-ready, retention controls) or API zero-retention. IPP 12 risk.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
No training; Enterprise adds retention controls, audit logs and a HIPAA-ready/BAA option that support sensitive data. IPP 12 risk; a deliberate protocol is still warranted.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
No training; configurable for zero retention. Suitable for sensitive data in an engineered workflow with your own controls. IPP 12 risk.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
7. Children’s information
Information about a child or young person. It is also personal information (category 5), and often sensitive (category 6), and it carries additional care because of children’s vulnerability and the weight given to their best interests. Treat it as needing the strongest justification, even where a rule does not strictly compel it.
Children's information carries a higher Privacy Act sensitivity. The same across Free, Pro and Max: with the model-training toggle off it can be handled with care, though a personal account's retention and human safety-review make a commercial plan preferable for material this sensitive. IPP 12 risk.
Sources: Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy (as at 30 May 2026); How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? (as at 30 May 2026); How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
No training on inputs, with the same strong caveat as other highly sensitive data: Team lacks retention control and audit. Prefer Enterprise or API zero-retention. IPP 12 risk mitigated by no training on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026); Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
No training; Enterprise retention/audit controls support handling children's information under a deliberate protocol. IPP 12 risk mitigated by no training on inputs.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
No training; zero-retention configurable. IPP 12 risk mitigated by no training on inputs; controls are yours to build.
Sources: Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) (as at 30 May 2026); Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) (as at 29 May 2026)
8. Court-protected material
Material under an independent legal restriction that binds regardless of the tool or plan: name suppression and non-publication orders, confidentiality and sealing orders, statutory automatic suppression (for example in some Family, care-of-children and youth proceedings), and undertakings you have given to the other side. The restriction is the bar, not the technology — if any order or undertaking might apply, proceed with extreme caution.
Suppression orders, confidentiality orders, sealed material and undertakings are independent legal restrictions that can apply regardless of tool or tier. The NZ Law Society's AI guidance is explicit that suppressed material must not be entered into AI tools.
Sources: Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
An independent legal restriction (suppression, confidentiality order, sealing, undertaking) applies regardless of tool or tier.
Sources: Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
An independent legal restriction (suppression, confidentiality order, sealing, undertaking) applies regardless of tool or tier.
Sources: Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
An independent legal restriction (suppression, confidentiality order, sealing, undertaking) applies regardless of tool or tier.
Sources: Generative AI guidance for lawyers (as at 30 May 2026)
What the colours mean
- GreenBased on current provider terms and standard New Zealand frameworks, using this information on this plan is unlikely to breach primary regulatory or privacy restrictions. However, users must still consider any case-specific confidentiality obligations. Sources linked.
- AmberUse is acceptable only if specific safeguards are active. This workflow demands explicit settings adjustments, precise redactions, or specific contractual coverage to remain within legal limits. Sources are linked below.
- RedUsing this information on this plan will breach primary New Zealand regulatory or privacy limits. Proceeding requires a fundamental structural change — such as upgrading to a secure enterprise tier, switching vendors, or utilising a local, self-hosted deployment. Sources linked.
- BlackAn independent restriction — court order, suppression order, statutory prohibition, undertaking — applies regardless of tool or plan.
- Not yet assessedWe have not yet established a sourced position for this cell. It carries no colour rather than a guess (Policy §5.3).
Sources cited in this record
- Updates to Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy — Anthropic. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- Commercial Terms of Service (effective 17 June 2025) — Anthropic. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- How Do You Use Personal Data in Model Training? — Anthropic. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- How do I change my model improvement privacy settings? — Anthropic. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- Generative AI guidance for lawyers — New Zealand Law Society. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- Configure custom data retention controls for Enterprise plans — Anthropic. Perma.cc record (as at 30 May 2026).
- Evidence Act 2006, s 65 (Waiver) — New Zealand Legislation. source (as at 29 May 2026).
- B v Auckland District Law Society [2003] UKPC 38, [2003] 2 AC 736 — Privy Council (on appeal from New Zealand). source (as at 29 May 2026).
- Privacy Act 2020 — IPP 12 (Disclosure of personal information outside New Zealand) — Office of the Privacy Commissioner. source (as at 29 May 2026).