Do you see a “We’ve detected suspicious behavior from phone numbers similar to yours” error on ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is among the most popular AI tools today, with over 100 million users.
Despite this,OpenAI can’t seem to address all the issues with its service.
If you are here, you probably see an error message on the login screen indicating possible suspicious behavior with your account.
Today, we’ll walk you through the steps to resolve the “We’ve detected suspicious behavior” error on ChatGPT.
Let’s begin!
1. Restart Your Computer.
When you encounter the suspicious error message on ChatGPT, try restarting your computer first.
This should rule out temporary errors on your system that may have triggered the message.
For Windows users, follow the steps below:
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu.
- Click on the Power Options tab.
- Choose Restart from the pop-up menu.
Here’s what you need to do if you’re using a Mac:
- Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Next, choose Restart.
- When prompted, click Restart again to confirm your action.
Once done, go back to ChatGPT’s website and see if you can now access your account.
2. Check for Malware and Viruses.
There’s a chance that the computer you’re using to access ChatGPT has some malware.
The servers might identify some packages trying to access their servers using your machine, which triggers the error.
To fix this, perform a full system scan on your computer using your antivirus or Windows Defender to clear out any possible virus or malware.
If the scan doesn’t show anything, move on to the next step.
3. Review Your Activity.
The “We’ve detected suspicious behavior” error doesn’t occur randomly. This is a security measure placed by OpenAI to protect the service and its users.
If you’ve violated ChatGPT’s policies, your account can get restricted.
To avoid problems, make sure that you read ChatGPT’s usage policies. Here are some activities that are not allowed on the platform:
- Illegal activities
- Child abuse materials or any content that exploits or harms children
- Content that promotes hate, violence, and substance abuse.
- Generation of malware
- Content that attempts to generate codes designed to disrupt, damage, or gain access to a computer.
Make sure to go through the complete guidelines on OpenAI’s site for more information.
4. Clear Browser Cache.
If your account was just imposed with a temporary restriction, you might be able to get around it by clearing your browsing cache.
The restriction could be embedded in your browsing data, and clearing it should trick the servers.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Open the browser you’re using to access ChatGPT.
- Click on More Options in the upper left corner.
- Now, go to Settings.
- Scroll down to Privacy and Security.
- Click on Clear Browsing Data.
- On the pop-up window, change the Time Range to All Time.
- Include caches and cookies in the process.
- Click Clear Data to begin.
Once done, go back to ChatGPT and see if you can now access your account.
5. Turn Off VPN.
Some VPNs are poorly optimized and can cause issues to websites and applications.
If you keep seeing the “We’ve detected suspicious behavior” error on ChatGPT, disable any VPN you have on your device or network.
6. Use Your Real Number.
If you used random number generators to verify your ChatGPT account, it might be the reason you’re encountering this issue.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about this. The only option you have is to sign up for a new account with a legitimate phone number.
After doing this, you should be able to log in to your account and use the service.
Sadly, there’s also no way to recover old conversations from your previous account if it has been restricted.
7. Contact OpenAI.
This might be a long shot, but you can contact OpenAI to know your options.
On some occasions, they might be able to recover your account, provided you use your real phone number and update your details.
However, this is not a guarantee, and they usually just decline the request, given you’ve violated the community guidelines.
That ends our guide on how to fix the “We’ve detected suspicious behavior” error on ChatGPT.
If you have questions or other concerns, please let us know in the comment section, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
