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# GitHub's Copilot Ads and Opt-out for AI Training Data

**By:** [Daniel Cranney](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@daniel-cranney)

**Published:** April 7, 2026

Our newsletter - [The Dev Digest](https://wearedevelopers.com/devdigest) - is packed with links to all kinds of tech content, but we just can’t cover everything. That’s why we put together the Overflow, where we share some of our favourites in bonus posts and videos, and this time we’re taking a look at what’s been happening over at **GitHub**.

* * *

GitHub made headlines recently after a developer discovered that Copilot had been inserting unsolicited promotional messages into pull requests. The message,an ad for the app _Raycast_. turned up in [over 11,000 other PRs](https://undercodenews.com/github-copilot-ads-controversy-explained-bug-or-warning-sign-for-developers/), all without the authors’ knowledge.

GitHub [pulled the feature the same day](https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/30/github_copilot_ads_pull_requests/), with Tim Rogers, Principal Product Manager for Copilot going on Hacker News to say it was “the wrong judgement call.” The official statement called it a logic error and confirmed there are no plans for advertising in GitHub.

That happened the same week GitHub [enabled Copilot data collection for AI training by default](https://www.ghacks.net/2026/03/26/github-enables-copilot-data-collection-for-ai-training-by-default-with-opt-out-setting/), updating its privacy policy so that your interactions with Copilot could be used to improve future models unless you actively decide to opt out. [How-To Geek has a walkthrough](https://www.howtogeek.com/githubs-copilot-will-use-you-as-ai-training-data-but-you-can-opt-out/) if you want to do that.

Interesting developments over at GitHub



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