Chapter 14 · The postcard

Meta-alphabet

In the brief edition: What to tell an AI platform, and what it keeps

What was read, and when

The exchange was recorded on 27 September 2026, from the model named in its header, by its API, with the vendor's defaults, no system prompt and one question.
The screens: three products' privacy, memory and export settings, saved by the courses on 18 and 19 September 2026, one account each, in English. What the memory screen said about the account was not copied.
One company's four pages: the announcement of 28 August 2025, the help page on training of 16 March 2026, the article on how long data is stored of 1 July 2026, and the privacy policy effective 10 September 2026, all read on 27 September 2026. The other company's privacy policy, updated 10 September 2026, and two help pages, read in a browser the same day.
The laws: the federal health-privacy rule (45 CFR § 160.103), California's Attorney General's page on its privacy law, updated 28 August 2026, and Canada's act (PIPEDA), current to 3 September 2026, all read on 27 September 2026.
The study of people's privacy beliefs about general chatbots used for mental health: arXiv, posted 14 July 2025.
The publication the author runs: the courses' chat card and saved turns from 24 September 2026; the publication's card, "Conversations are saved.", from 26 September 2026; its retention line added on 27 September 2026, on the author's word.
Table 14.1: the courses' saved screens, 18 and 19 September 2026.

The sources are printed in the full edition, chapter by chapter, with the day each was read. This page prints the same list.