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It depends on your account type and settings. For Free, Pro, and Max accounts, Anthropic may use Claude Code sessions to improve future models when the Model Improvement setting is enabled. For Team, Enterprise, API, and supported third-party provider accounts under commercial terms, Anthropic says it does not train generative models on Claude Code code or prompts by default unless the customer opts in. Anthropic’s Claude Code data-usage policy does not state a single default setting for consumer accounts.

Which Claude Code plans can contribute code to training?

The key distinction is consumer versus commercial use, not simply whether you run Claude Code locally. The policy applies to code and prompts sent to Claude Code, and the consumer choice is controlled by Model Improvement.

Account or route Training policy for Claude Code code and prompts Qualification
Free, Pro, Max May be used to improve future models when Model Improvement is enabled. Incognito chats are excluded. The current setup guide says Free does not include Claude Code access, even though Free is included in Anthropic’s consumer data policy.
Team, Enterprise Not used to train generative models by default under commercial terms. An organization can choose to provide data for improvement. Organization owners also have feedback controls.
Anthropic API Not used for model training by default under commercial terms. Explicit opt-in, including participation in the Development Partner Program, may permit use. That program is limited to Anthropic’s first-party API.
Third-party provider routes, including Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Agent Platform, and Microsoft Foundry Commercial default is no generative-model training on Claude Code code or prompts unless the customer opts in. Network, encryption, telemetry, and feedback behavior can vary by provider. The Development Partner Program is not available to Bedrock or Google Cloud Agent Platform users.

These distinctions are stated in Anthropic’s Claude Code data-usage documentation. For current account availability, including Free-plan access, see the Claude Code setup guide.

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How to check Model Improvement for a consumer account

If you use Claude Code through a Free, Pro, or Max account, check the Model Improvement setting for the relevant Claude account. Anthropic’s current policy describes a choice to allow data use but does not specify one universal on-or-off default, so do not assume the setting’s state.

  1. Open Anthropic’s Model Improvement privacy-settings instructions.
  2. Follow the current account-specific steps to find Model Improvement and review whether it is enabled.
  3. If you do not want future consumer chats and coding sessions used for model improvement, turn the setting off. Anthropic says turning it off stops future training use of new and previously stored chats; it cannot remove material already in training runs or models already trained.

Anthropic’s consumer model-training article explains the setting, and its Claude Code policy specifically includes Claude Code sessions when Model Improvement is on.

What Incognito, safety review, and feedback change

Incognito chats

Anthropic says Incognito chats are not used to improve Claude, even when Model Improvement is enabled. This is a specific consumer exception; do not treat it as a general rule for ordinary sessions.

Safety review and other opt-ins

Anthropic lists safety-review and other explicit opt-in cases separately from the ordinary Model Improvement choice. The data-usage terms for your account and any organization agreement therefore matter alongside the setting.

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Feedback submissions

Using /feedback, /bug, or /share can submit conversation history that includes code; Anthropic says those submissions are retained for five years. A session-quality rating alone records a rating. If a separate prompt asks whether Anthropic may inspect the transcript, only selecting Yes submits it. Anthropic says that submission can include the conversation transcript, subagent transcripts, and raw session log; known API-key and token patterns are redacted, while source code and file contents are uploaded as-is. Submitted transcripts through this optional prompt are retained for up to six months.

Training, retention, and local session files are different issues

A no-training default does not itself mean data is never retained, and local caching does not mean a session stays only on your computer. Anthropic’s current Claude Code documentation lists these separate retention periods:

  • Consumer account with Model Improvement allowed: five years.
  • Consumer account with Model Improvement off: 30 days.
  • Commercial use: 30 days as the standard retention period. Zero data retention is available for eligible Claude for Enterprise accounts, but is not automatically included in standard Enterprise.
  • Local Claude Code session transcripts: plaintext files are cached under ~/.claude/projects/ for 30 days by default to support resuming sessions.

Separately, Anthropic’s Privacy Center says data provided for consumer model improvement may be retained in de-identified form for up to five years in model-training pipelines. These are Anthropic policy terms, not a guarantee that every deployment or customer agreement has identical handling. See the Claude Code data-usage documentation, the consumer data-retention article, and the consumer training article.

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Does Claude Code send code off your computer?

Yes. Claude Code runs locally, but sends prompts to the chosen model provider and receives model outputs over the network. That exchange is separate from the question of whether Anthropic uses data to train models. Anthropic documents operational metrics as a separate stream that excludes code, prompts, and file paths; provider-specific network, encryption-at-rest, and telemetry details differ. Review the policy and contract for the provider and deployment you actually use rather than inferring handling from the Claude plan label alone. See Anthropic’s provider and data-flow details.

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What to do with sensitive code

  • For a consumer account, verify Model Improvement rather than assuming its default state.
  • Use Incognito for a consumer chat you do not want used for model improvement, recognizing that this does not describe every other data-handling or retention rule.
  • Do not send feedback or approve transcript sharing unless you are comfortable submitting the associated session material.
  • For commercial or third-party deployments, check the applicable customer agreement and provider-specific terms, including any opt-in and retention configuration.
  • Remember that local caching and network transmission are distinct: inspect local session files and account for the selected provider’s data flow.

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