How to tell if your AI platforms’ accounts have been hacked
9:10 AM PDT · August 15, 2026
Just like any other online service, hackers can target and break into your accounts on popular AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
TechCrunch has created a comprehensive guide to help you protect yourself if you suspect someone has broken into your account on one of the internet’s most popular platforms, social networks, or messaging apps. Now, we’re here to show you how to check whether your accounts on AI platforms have been hacked.
As usual, we recommend using unique passwords stored in a password manager, and turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA), so that even if someone steals your password, they won’t be able to log in without that second piece of information.
ChatGPT and Perplexity offer MFA. Claude doesn’t, because instead of asking for a password, Anthropic’s AI chatbot sends a login link to your email address.
All three of these AI platforms offer similar ways to check if there’s a suspicious device logged into your account. Here’s exactly how each platform works.
ChatGPT
To find out if someone has broken into your ChatGPT account, open it on your computer’s browser, click on your username in the bottom left corner, go to “Settings,” then “Security and Login,” and finally click on “Active Sessions.”
You will see where you are logged into your ChatGPT account. If you see any device you don’t recognize, you can log out of that single device. You can also click on “Log out all.”
At this point, if you want to change your password, you need to log out of your account.
Then, on ChatGPT’s website, click “Log in” located in the bottom-left corner, enter your email address, click on “Forgot password,” and then “Continue.”
ChatGPT will then send you an email containing a six-digit code. Enter the code on the ChatGPT login page, click “Continue,” and then enter a new password.
You can also click “reset your password” in the email you received to see the official instructions on how to do that.
Claude
For Claude, open it in your computer’s browser, click on your username in the bottom-left corner, then “Settings,” and click on “Account.” That’s where you will see your “Active sessions.”
If you don’t recognize one of them, hover over it, click on the three vertical dots that appear on the right, and click “Log out” or “Terminate.”
If you want, you can click on “Log out of all devices.”
At that point, you’ll be able to log back into your account using your email address. You will receive an email with a link to log in. Claude does not allow you to use passwords at all, so there’s no password to change.
Perplexity
In the case of Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine does not show you where you are logged in.
So if you’re worried someone may have broken into your account, go to Perplexity in your browser and click your username in the bottom-left corner, then “All settings.” Finally, click on “Sign out of all sessions,” and then “Confirm.”
At that point, you can log back in by entering your email address. You will then receive an email with a unique six-digit code. Enter the code on the website to log in, or click on the “Sign in” button in the email to log in directly.
Topics
Anthropic, ChatGPT, Claude, cybersecurity, evergreens, OpenAI, Perplexity, Security
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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Senior Reporter, Cybersecurity
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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is a Senior Writer at TechCrunch, where he covers hacking, cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy.
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