Perplexity AI sued over alleged data sharing with Meta and Google

Perplexity AI is facing a class-action lawsuit. The company is accused of sharing personal user data from chats with Meta and Google, Bloomberg reports. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco.

According to the complaint, trackers are downloaded onto users' devices as soon as they log into Perplexity's home page. That is not unusual for many websites. What makes the allegation serious is the further claim: the trackers allegedly give Meta and Google access to conversations with the AI search engine. According to the lawsuit, this also applies when users enable "Incognito" mode.

The suit was filed on behalf of a man from Utah who says he shared financial and tax information with the chatbot. If certified, additional plaintiffs may join. Meta pointed to its policies, which prohibit advertisers from submitting sensitive data. Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer said the company has not been served with any such lawsuit. Google did not immediately comment.