Contractors read Microsoft Copilot users' private prompts, 404 Media reports
Human reviewers hired through Prolific evaluate Copilot's image edits and are exposed to requests for sexual imagery, upskirt photos and pro-anorexia content, contractor documents show.
Human contractors review Microsoft Copilot users' private prompts and uploaded images, according to internal documents 404 Media obtained. Some of the material includes requests for sexual imagery. Companies including Prolific hire the reviewers, the outlet said.
The contractors do not filter content for safety, 404 Media reported. Instead they grade whether Copilot's image edits followed instructions correctly and contain no visual artifacts, which is Microsoft's stated reason for the review. In the process, the outlet said, they see material including upskirt photos, altered images of real women in suggestive poses, and sexualized images of cartoon characters.
One contractor told 404 Media: "I just came across an image set that consisted of eight upskirt photos." Others described seeing pro-anorexia material and what they believed was potentially illegal content, the outlet reported.
A Microsoft spokesperson said contractors assess whether Copilot's image edits followed user instructions and contain no visual artifacts. Microsoft did not directly address contractors' accounts of the material they see. The spokesperson said the company "uses customer data as described in our terms of use, including to improve our products and enforce our code of conduct."