If you route prompts through OpenRouter, even Zero Data Retention requests will be screened and may be retained for review and legal reporting. Reassess compliance and privacy assumptions for sensitive workloads.
Key takeaways · AI-distilled
OpenRouter says it will screen every inferenceRunning a trained model to get answers — the phase where AI is actually used, as opposed to trained.Full definition → request for CSAM in flight, matching content against hashes of known material, and may retain content flagged as suspected new material, even without a hash match, for human review.
The screening also covers Zero Data Retention traffic: OpenRouter's ZDR terms now allow retention when content is flagged for CSAM review, reporting, or legal preservation, and it says this does not permit general retention.
OpenRouter notes a flag is only a suspicion, not a determination, and that the one-year US preservation duty under 18 U.S.C. 2258A applies to reported material, not to every flagged item.
Upstream model providers may run their own screening and retention, including holding content before anything is flagged; OpenRouter says those practices are governed by each provider's policy, separate from its own.
Terms in this piece · Glossary
inference — Running a trained model to get answers — the phase where AI is actually used, as opposed to trained.
