# How to control AI data collection

> A single switch governing whether xSpeed's AI features may collect visitor data, and only after consent — deliberately in the Free plugin, not behind a paywall.

- Category: AI & agents
- Canonical: https://xspeedcache.com/docs/ai-privacy/

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**AI Privacy** is one important switch: whether xSpeed's AI-powered features may collect data from your visitors, and if so, only after they've consented.

![The AI Privacy panel](https://xspeedcache.com/_astro/ai-privacy-intro.Ci1xMe4v.png)

It sits in the **Free** plugin even though the features it governs are Pro. The panel explains why in its own subtitle: *"The off-switch is here in Free because privacy is a fundamental right, not a paid feature."*

> **Where to find it**
>
> 1. In your WordPress admin, click **xSpeed Cache** in the left menu.
> 2. In the xSpeed Cache sidebar, open the **AI & agents** group.
> 3. Click the **AI Privacy** card.
>
> *Shortcut: open `wp-admin/admin.php?page=xspeed#/ai-agents/ai-privacy` directly.*
>
> ✅ This panel is part of **xSpeed Cache (Free)**.

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## Settings at a glance

| Setting | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Require consent before AI data collection** | On | Gates collection behind the visitor's consent. |
| **Consent banner text** | Preset wording | What the cookie consent banner says you collect. |

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## How it works

The switch is a **gate every AI feature must pass** before recording anything about a visitor. It doesn't disable the features — it decides whether they may observe your visitors.

Only one feature actually collects visitor data today: [SmartPredict](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/smartpredict/), which records anonymous navigation transitions to predict the next page. Features like [Adaptive Cache](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/adaptive-cache/) and [Smart Image](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/smart-image/) work from **aggregated site data** — traffic counters, media statistics — and are unaffected by this setting, because they never touch visitor-level data in the first place.

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## The consent switch

![The consent setting and banner text](https://xspeedcache.com/_astro/ai-privacy-settings.BRRpijRQ.png)

1. **Require consent before AI data collection** — the gate.
2. **Consent banner text** — what your banner says.

**On by default.** AI features only record data after a visitor accepts your consent banner.

Turn it **off** and they collect from every visitor. The panel is careful about when that's acceptable: *"only legal in regions without GDPR-style consent rules."* If any meaningful share of your audience is in the EU, the UK, or a comparable jurisdiction, leaving this on isn't a preference — it's the compliant configuration.

Two details make this stronger than a typical toggle:

**It applies even if Pro isn't installed.** The setting is stored and honoured regardless, so *"a later Pro upgrade respects whichever choice you made."* You can set your policy now and it holds when the features arrive.

**Consent banner text** is shown in your cookie consent banner. The guidance is to keep it factual — what you collect (page navigation, performance metrics) and why. This is the text your visitors actually read before agreeing, so vague wording undermines the consent you're collecting.

> ⚠️ **This setting governs whether data is *recorded*, not what a feature sends to your AI provider.** Those are separate questions. [Adaptive Cache](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/adaptive-cache/), for instance, sends aggregated counters to write its explanation — that happens regardless of this gate, because no visitor data is involved. What the gate stops is visitor-level collection upstream.

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## Related

- [How to connect an AI provider](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/ai-provider/)
- [How to auto-tune your cache lifetime](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/adaptive-cache/)
- [How to get AI image suggestions](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/smart-image/)
- [How to prefetch the next page](https://xspeedcache.com/docs/smartpredict/)