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GitHub / Microsoft (US)

How safe is GitHub Copilot for IT & software development?

GDPR profileOur summary of what the provider itself publishes about your data: whether the data is stored in the EU (2 points), whether there is certification or a GDPR guarantee (1), and whether the provider is based in the NL or the EU (1). 3 or 4 points is Strong, 2 Good, 1 Limited, 0 Unknown. How we measure for IT & software developmentLimited

GitHub Copilot publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential IT & software development data into it.

Where does GitHub Copilot rank in IT & software development?

Shared spot 16 of 36 options for IT & software development (professional tools and general assistants) on GDPR profile. 9 options, like GitHub Copilot, have a limited profile. Each tile is an option we track for this field; click for the check.

Strong8
Good7
Limited9
Unknown5
Caution7

Published safeguards

–Provider based in NL/EUNot known
–Data in the EU (according to provider)Not known
✓Publishes certification (ISO/NEN/GDPR)Yes

multi-model: models from OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Gemini), Google (Claude), xAI (Grok) and open-weight models such as Kimi (per provider); OpenAI models run at OpenAI and on GitHub's Azure infrastructure, Gemini on AWS, Anthropic and Google Cloud, Claude on Google Cloud (per provider); data from Copilot Business and Enterprise is not used for model training (per provider); on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max, GitHub may use interaction data for training, which can be switched off in account settings (per provider); data residency in the EU or US only via GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency (per provider); Copilot Business and Enterprise fall under GitHub's SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001 certificate (per provider)

How to use GitHub Copilot safely

  • Use the business variant and sign a data processing agreement (DPA).
  • Do not enter unnecessary personal data into prompts; anonymise where possible.
  • Ask the provider explicitly where data is stored and processed.
  • Keep a professional in the loop: source code is a trade secret and intellectual property.

Stronger or equally strong in IT & software development

SonarQubeSonarSource Sarl (Switzerland - EU-equivalent)Phrase Localization PlatformPhrase GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) / Phrase a.s. (Prague, Czech Republic)CrowdinCrowdin OÜ (Estonia, Europe)FigmaFigma, Inc. (USA)JetBrains AI AssistantJetBrains s.r.o. (Czechia / Netherlands - EU)

Latest developments

9 November 2026Claude Code stores approved commands containing passwords in settings.local.json

If you choose "Yes, and don't ask again" in Claude Code, the tool saves the command verbatim in .claude/settings.local.json, including passwords or API keys. Apiiro found real secrets in 1,122 of 104,185 public copies on GitHub, including 379 database passwords. Keep the file out of git, use variables for secrets, and replace any keys that have already leaked. source

5 November 2026Flaw in Lockdown Mode patched

Via pop-up windows in the HTML preview of code blocks, an attacker could bypass Lockdown Mode and siphon off your chat history, via a manipulated prompt, GPT or shared chat. OpenAI patched the flaw on 18 September 2026; Check Point published the details on 5 November. Users do not need to do anything. source

4 November 2026Watermark in Grok API text from 7 November (AI Act)

From 7 November 2026, responses from grok-4.7, grok-4.6, grok-4.5, grok-4.3 and the grok-4.20 variants via the API will carry an invisible statistical watermark, to comply with the EU AI Act. The mark sits in the word choice and survives copying and pasting; the x-watermark header indicates whether a response is marked. A team administrator can switch it off per model, but must then confirm that a legal exemption applies. The detector is available on request only. source

Questions

How safe is GitHub Copilot for IT & software development?
GitHub Copilot publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential IT & software development data into it. Limited or partly unknown safeguards, check with the provider.
Does GitHub Copilot train on my data?
multi-model: models from OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Gemini), Google (Claude), xAI (Grok) and open-weight models such as Kimi (per provider); OpenAI models run at OpenAI and on GitHub's Azure infrastructure, Gemini on AWS, Anthropic and Google Cloud, Claude on Google Cloud (per provider); data from Copilot Business and Enterprise is not used for model training (per provider); on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max, GitHub may use interaction data for training, which can be switched off in account settings (per provider); data residency in the EU or US only via GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency (per provider); Copilot Business and Enterprise fall under GitHub's SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001 certificate (per provider)
What should I watch out for with AI in IT & software development?
Source code is trade secret and intellectual property. Check whether AI coding assistants store your code or use it for model training (an opt-out or business plan is required). Use on-premises or privacy-compliant variants for sensitive projects. AI-generated code sometimes contains security vulnerabilities or errors, so always have a developer review it, especially production code.

Source documents

github.comgithub.comgithub.comdocs.github.com

Everything about GitHub Copilot Best AI for IT & software development

Summarised by the editorial team from provider documentation · not legal advice

Last checked: 27 October 2026 · How we check

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