🔍 Read the full analysis: A Zero-Retention Promise, A Fireworks Breach, And Notion AI Chats on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Notion says data accessed in the Fireworks AI breach included stored Notion AI chat transcripts used for its Insights feature. The company says fewer than 1% of workspaces are affected and that it revoked exposed Notion API keys on November 11; the system that retained the data and how long it was kept remain unknown.
Notion says chat transcripts from its AI product were included in data accessed during the Fireworks AI breach, expanding the company’s notice about the incident on November 10 and 11. Notion says the data was retained by Fireworks despite a contractual zero-data-retention commitment, and that fewer than 1% of Notion workspaces are affected.
According to Notion, the exposed dataset was associated with Insights, a feature that gives workspace administrators information about how teams use AI. Notion says the dataset Fireworks provided on November 8 included Notion AI chat transcripts used for Insights. For the vast majority of affected workspaces, it says, the transcripts were unattributable: they were not labeled with the author or workspace and did not include tool-call results.
That does not mean the content was necessarily harmless. Notion defines a transcript as any input to or output from the model that was written to the chat. It advises affected customers to review the data because a chat may contain sensitive information, including details a user entered directly. Notion says AI Meeting Notes were not affected unless audio, transcripts or summaries were used as input in a Notion AI chat; it says no other Notion features were affected.
Notion said it revoked exposed Notion API keys found in affected user messages on November 11. It also says it disconnected its systems from Fireworks, deleted data from the Fireworks system and halted training runs on November 3. The company advises affected customers to treat the data as exposed, review it under its Security incident review guidance and rotate passwords, API keys or other credentials pasted into Notion AI during the incident.
Notion AI chats exposedafter Fireworks breach
Notion says stored chat transcripts used for Insights were accessed despite Fireworks’ contractual zero data retention commitment. Affected customers should treat the data as exposed and review it.
What data was involved
Notion attributes the exposed transcripts to the Insights feature, which analyzes AI use across workspaces.
Inputs and outputs
A transcript can include anything written into a Notion AI chat, including sensitive details.
Usually unlabeled
Most affected transcripts lacked author and workspace labels and did not include tool-call results.
Limited feature impact
AI Meeting Notes were not affected unless their content was used in a Notion AI chat. Notion says other features were unaffected.
What the promise covered
Notion says zero retention covered live requests used to generate responses, while stored data for features such as Insights was handled separately.
- Fireworks committed to zero data retention for Notion’s platform use.
- Notion says its investigation found data retained from the endpoints it used.
- Which Fireworks system retained the data and for how long.
- How many users or transcript records were involved.
Incident timeline
Notion’s account traces the response from initial notification to expanded disclosure.
What affected customers should do
Coordinate with workspace administrators to review potentially sensitive content and credentials.
- Follow Notion’s Security incident review guidance.
- Inspect the data involved and treat it as exposed.
- Rotate passwords, API keys or other credentials pasted into Notion AI during the incident.
What the Retention Promise Covered
The incident puts attention on the difference between zero retention for live model requests and the storage needed to provide other product features. Notion says its zero-retention commitments for model vendors cover API requests used to generate Notion AI responses, but not uses such as chat history and Insights where data is stored to deliver a feature.
For Insights, Notion says it sent stored Notion AI requests and responses to Fireworks for analysis. It says Fireworks had made a contractual commitment to zero data retention for Notion’s use of its platform, but that its investigation found data was retained from the Fireworks endpoints it used. For businesses evaluating AI services, the disclosure shows that a vendor’s retention commitments, the data flows behind secondary features and the handling of stored records all matter when judging exposure.
Notion says it is auditing critical vendors, including inference providers and data processors, to check their data-minimization practices. The company has not said whether that review will lead to changes in vendor arrangements or product data handling.
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How Notion and Fireworks Connect
Notion says it used Fireworks in two ways: to run classification jobs for Insights and as a general inference provider for open-weight models in its product. Notion attributes the exposed transcripts to the Insights work, not to all uses of Fireworks. This distinction matters because Fireworks’ own update, still marked as last updated November 9 in the source material, says it had not detected impact to Inference, Training SDK and Nexus, which it describes as zero-retention by default. Fireworks also listed datasets among data accessed for certain customers.
Notion’s published timeline says Fireworks notified it on the evening of November 2 that a small amount of data had been accessed by malicious actors. At first, Notion says it understood the data to be synthetic testing data. On November 3, it disconnected from Fireworks, deleted data in the Fireworks system and halted training runs. Fireworks later told Notion that customer data may have been accessed, according to Notion’s account. Notion’s subsequent updates on November 10 and 11 added the chat-transcript and retention details.
“Unfortunately, during our investigation we learned that data was retained from the Fireworks endpoints that we used.”
— Notion, in its updated security notice
The Missing Retention Details
The public notices do not identify which Fireworks system retained Notion’s data, how long it remained there or how many people may be affected. Notion gives the affected share as fewer than 1% of workspaces, but the source material does not provide a total number of affected users or a detailed count of records.
It is also unclear how the retention Notion describes relates to Fireworks’ statement that it has not detected impact to certain services that are zero-retention by default. Neither company has publicly reconciled the statements or named the endpoint involved. The available information does not establish whether other Fireworks customers had similar data-retention issues.
Notion says that if a workspace owner or user has not heard from the company, it has not identified that workspace as affected. That is Notion’s current identification status, not independent confirmation that no data associated with other workspaces was present in any relevant system.
Customer Reviews and Vendor Audit
Affected workspace owners should follow Notion’s Security incident review guidance, inspect the data involved and rotate credentials that may have been pasted into Notion AI during the incident. Users should coordinate with their workspace administrators on reviewing potentially sensitive content and any exposed keys or passwords.
Notion says it is auditing critical vendors for data-minimization practices. Further details from Notion or Fireworks could clarify the system involved, the retention period, the number of affected users and whether the issue extended beyond Notion. Neither company has provided those answers in the material available for this report.
Key Questions
What Notion data was exposed?
Notion says the dataset accessed in the Fireworks breach included Notion AI chat transcripts used for Insights. It says most affected transcripts were not labeled with a user or workspace, but their inputs or outputs could still include sensitive content.
How many Notion workspaces are affected?
Notion says fewer than 1% of workspaces are affected. It has not published a precise number of workspaces, users or transcript records in the source material.
Did Notion AI Meeting Notes data get exposed?
Notion says AI Meeting Notes were not affected unless audio, transcripts or summaries were used as input in a Notion AI chat transcript. It says no other Notion features were affected.
What should an affected workspace do?
Notion advises affected customers to treat the data as exposed, review it using its Security incident review guidance and rotate passwords, API keys or other credentials pasted into Notion AI during the incident.
What remains unknown about the Fireworks breach?
The companies have not identified which Fireworks system retained the data, how long it was kept, how many people were affected or whether other Fireworks customers faced a similar issue.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
