Think AI used your work?

English translation produced by the platform. It has not been reviewed by a native speaker and is not a certified translation. The Chinese version is the source.

Version 0.1 | 2026-09-24 | draft walkthrough. Goal: let whoever reviews this later know the conditions under which the model produced that result.

Read this first

Save what is needed to understand the output: the preceding turns, the attachments, the retrieval settings and the original output itself. A full account export can be kept privately by you first, and the parts relevant to the incident extracted afterwards.

Getting similar content back after you supplied your own work to a model does not on its own show that the work was used in training. A public share link is not a safe backup. Do not upload a full account export to this platform.

Time, cost and tools

Plan 10–20 minutes for organising things locally. Waiting for a server-side export is separate. These are estimates, not measured figures.

Your system file manager, a notes app or the writing software you already use: nothing new to pay for; save to the device itself where possible; if cloud sync is already switched on, files may end up in your cloud account.
The export or download function the AI service already provides. ChatGPT is the example that was checked: subject to your existing account and eligibility; no subscription purchase required; you request the export from the original service and keep the file on your own device when it arrives.

Before you start

Preserve anything in front of you that might disappear before doing anything else. Do not sign out or refresh first.
Do not crop original files or screenshots, do not repair them with AI, and do not fabricate metadata.
Record who actually did the work if someone helps you. Never give a helper your password or a verification code.

Step by step

Step 1 | Find the real beginning of what happened

Where to click: Scroll up in the current conversation: what did you type, upload or link before the output you are concerned about? Do not edit any of it.

What you should see: You can identify the context that led to the result.

If you can't: If some earlier turns are no longer visible, write "earlier context not available". Do not guess.

Step 2 | Record whether you supplied the original work yourself

Where to click: Open the "did the user supply the original work" field in the incident record and choose yes, no or unknown, then describe what you pasted or uploaded, and in which message.

What you should see: This easily-missed condition appears explicitly in your material.

If you can't: If you cannot remember earlier conversations or what a memory feature retained, choose unknown. Do not default to no.

Step 3 | Save the visible original output first

Where to click: If the service has a Download button, save the file into your originals folder. For text, use the copy button and save it as a .txt, and keep the screenshot as well. Do not summarise or translate it first.

What you should see: The output file and the screenshot correspond. Copied text is marked as an exported copy.

If you can't: With no download button, capture it screen by screen as in SOP02. That is not a failure, and it is not a claim that you obtained the file from the server.

Step 4 | Save attachments and the tool settings you could see

Where to click: In your note, list uploaded file names, web links, whether web search was visibly on, retrieval citations, image inputs, custom instructions and so on. Record only what was visible. Do not go looking for hidden internal information.

What you should see: The origin of an attachment, the input and the result can be connected.

If you can't: If an attachment is too large or you have no copy, record its name and the situation. Do not download private attachments that are not yours.

Step 5 | Request a ChatGPT account export, if you need one

Where to click: On an eligible signed-in account: profile menu → Settings → Data controls → Export data → Export → Confirm export. Do not leave the screen you were preserving before you have taken your screenshots.

What you should see: Confirmation that the export was requested. Note the time you requested it.

If you can't: Business, Enterprise and Healthcare accounts do not have this self-service path — contact your workspace administrator, or use whatever privacy request channel is actually available to you. If the button is not there, preserve the current conversation first.

Step 6 | Download the export and keep the original archive

Where to click: When the service notifies you, check who it came from and download while signed in to the same account. ChatGPT's help pages say this can take up to seven days and that the notification link expires after 24 hours. Put the original ZIP in a private folder.

What you should see: The ZIP is on your device and its size is not zero.

If you can't: If the link has expired, request it again. For account problems use the service's own official help. Never give this platform your password, a verification code or a sign-in link.

Step 7 | Look for the conversation you need inside a copy

Where to click: Copy the ZIP as a working copy and unpack that. Use the browser or text editor you already have to read the history files and find the content by conversation title or keyword. Formats change, so do not assume a particular file name will be there.

What you should see: You have found the part relevant to the incident, or recorded that it is not included.

If you can't: Do not upload the whole ZIP to an online converter or to an AI. If all you have is JSON you cannot read, keep the original archive privately, provide the screenshot version, and wait for authorised technical help. Deleted content is not guaranteed to be recoverable.

Step 8 | Check whether the export is actually complete

Where to click: Compare the inputs, outputs and attachment list in the export against your screenshots. Note the export time, whether it includes the last message, and whether images or tool calls are missing.

What you should see: Complete, partly missing, or unknown — explicitly marked.

If you can't: Where something is missing, keep both sources and do not modify the ZIP. Fill the gap with screenshots and say where they came from.

Step 9 | Produce a relevant copy only for sharing

Where to click: Create a separate "share candidate" folder rather than overwriting the complete private ZIP. Keep the relevant conversation and the context it needs. If you remove unrelated chats or account information from a copy, record what you removed.

What you should see: The share candidate does not contain your whole account's private chats, and the original archive is still intact.

If you can't: If you cannot reliably separate unrelated material, do not send the original archive out. Describe the problem to a lawyer or to authorised technical help instead.

Step 10 | Record the inventory and fingerprints as in SOP05

Where to click: For the ZIP, the screenshots and the relevant outputs, list the file name, size and fingerprint, or the reason a fingerprint is missing. At this stage everything stays local.

What you should see: The different pieces of material all point at the same incident.

If you can't: If a file is over 64 MiB, keep the original archive and leave the hash blank. Do not delete anything out of the archive to satisfy a tool.

Check when done

Whether the user supplied the original work is explicitly yes, no or unknown.
The full account archive has not been uploaded or made public by default.
Screenshots, copied text, original downloads and retries are each labelled.

What you end up keeping

The output as you actually obtained it
The relevant full input, attachments and retrieval notes
Where available, the complete private export and the relevant share copy
The export request and download times, and a record of what is missing

If something is missing

No account export: screenshots, selectable text and a description of the context are still worth having.
No original conversation, only the downloaded result: record that honestly. Do not invent the prompt.
Another AI service: use whatever export it genuinely offers. Check its own buttons — do not assume ChatGPT's apply.

Where your data goes, and sharing

Files on your device are not uploaded by this process. Your photo library, iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive or your editor may already be syncing, so check where something is saved before you save it. An account export communicates with the original service. A full account export is not handed to this project by default.

Keep originals somewhere private. Make a separate copy before sending anything to anyone outside, and check it first for unrelated personal material and for contract restrictions. Share only when the recipient, the purpose and the scope are clear. Nothing is sent automatically in this phase.

When to get professional help

If evidence is about to disappear, if you have received court papers or a deadline, if the chain of rights is unclear, if trade secrets or a minor is involved, or if a formal certificate is required, have a qualified professional in the relevant place check it promptly rather than waiting for this research to finish.

Basis and testing status

Source identifiers: S03, S07, S08, S24. Official URLs and locators are listed on the law pages. The actions in this walkthrough are preservation suggestions, not a claim that the law requires every person to complete every step.

Document checks have been done. Real-device testing on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, testing with five non-technical users, and lawyer sign-off have not.

Incident record

Private. Keep what you observed apart from what you infer.

Incident number
Related work number
Seen first-hand, or reported by someone else
Company or product you saw
Model or version visible (write unknown if you don't know)
Web address or session ID (may contain an access token — keep private)
Time you saw it, time zone, and how precise
Time came from: the device / the service display / memory afterwards
Time you are writing this note
Which file holds the full text you typed in
Had you supplied the original work or a similar fragment before: yes / no / unknown
How you supplied it, which file or link, and where
Visible retrieval, citations, attachments, custom settings and so on
Which file holds the output, and whether it is a download, copied text or a screenshot
Screenshot numbering and their order
Device and app; who actually operated it; known faults or omissions
Any retry or regeneration, and the separate incident number for it
Facts I saw with my own eyes
What I currently suspect
What I cannot confirm, or is missing

SOP03 | Save the full input, output and related conversation