If you already use Claude, especially with your @cornell.edu address, you'll end up with two accounts under one sign-in: your Personal account (Free, Pro, or Max) and your Cornell Enterprise account. The two look almost the same, but they're governed by different terms, managed by different people, and handle your data differently. This article covers what's the same, what's different, and how to use both without mixing them up.
Nothing is deleted or cancelled
Joining the pilot doesn't change or cancel your personal account or subscription. Keeping it or cancelling it is up to you, and it stays billed to you as before.
At a glance
| |
Personal account (Free, Pro, Max) |
Cornell Enterprise account (pilot) |
| Who pays | You. Pro is $20/month (US); Free costs nothing. | Cornell. No cost to you during the pilot. |
| Who manages it | You. It's yours to keep, change, or close. | Cornell. Cornell decides which features are on and can remove the account. |
| Terms that apply | Anthropic's Consumer Terms | Cornell's agreement with Anthropic (Commercial Terms) |
| Used to train Claude? | Only if Help improve Claude is on in your privacy settings. You choose. | No. Commercial accounts aren't used for training by default. |
| Who else can see your chats | No one at Cornell. | Cornell administrators can export the organization's data, including chats, and review activity logs. |
| Cornell data | Don't use. It isn't covered by Cornell's agreement. | Low and Moderate Risk data only. No High Risk data. |
| Usage limits | Pro has a limit that resets every five hours plus a weekly limit. Max has higher limits. | No individual spending limit during the pilot. JCB IT reviews overall usage. |
| Models | Whatever your plan includes. | Most current models, including Opus. Fable isn't included. |
| Connectors | Connect any you like, including your own Google account. | Only ones Cornell enables. Still being decided for the pilot. |
| Desktop extensions | Install any you like. | Only Cornell-approved extensions run. |
| Publishing artifacts | Available. | Not available on Enterprise plans. |
| After you leave Cornell | Stays with you. | Expect it to be removed, along with its chats. The same may happen when the pilot ends. |
| Where to get help | Anthropic's Help Center (support.claude.com) | JCB IT and Cornell's AI team. See Getting Help with the Student AI Pilot. |
What's the same
- The same Claude. Same web app, desktop app, and phone apps, and the same interface. You don't need to install anything new.
- The core features. Chats, projects, file uploads, artifacts, and web search work the same way in both.
- Claude Code. Available in both, including the desktop app's Code tab. See Claude Code below.
- The same sign-in. If both accounts use your @cornell.edu address, you sign in once and switch between them.
Privacy and your data
This is the biggest difference between the two accounts, and the one worth understanding before you start.
Your personal account
- Your personal account falls under Anthropic's Consumer Terms. Anthropic may use your chats to improve its models only if Help improve Claude is turned on. Check it in your personal account under Settings > Privacy.
- With that setting on, Anthropic can keep your chats for up to five years. With it off, they aren't used for training and the retention period is 30 days.
- Cornell has no access to your personal account.
- Because Cornell has no agreement covering your personal account, keep Cornell data out of it: course materials shared under restricted terms, other students' information, recruiting or employer materials, and anything else that isn't yours to share.
Your Cornell Enterprise account
- Your Cornell account falls under Cornell's agreement with Anthropic. Your chats aren't used to train Claude, and there's no setting to change that.
- Cornell controls the account. Cornell administrators can export the organization's data, which includes conversations, and can review activity logs. Treat it the way you'd treat your Cornell email.
- Cornell sets how long chats and files are kept.
- You can use Low and Moderate Risk Cornell data. Don't enter High Risk data, and check with ai-support@cornell.edu before using FERPA-protected data. University Policy 5.10 defines each risk level.
The thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons
In either account, rating a response sends that whole conversation to Anthropic as feedback, and Anthropic may keep it for up to five years. Don't rate conversations that contain anything sensitive.
Switching between accounts
- Web and desktop: click your name in the bottom-left corner and pick the account. The checkmark shows which one you're in.
- Phone: open Settings, tap your email address, and choose the account.
Check the checkmark before you start. The active account decides where a chat is saved, which features you have, and whose rules apply. Use your Cornell account for Cornell work and your personal account for everything else.
What doesn't carry over
The two accounts don't share anything, and nothing moves between them automatically.
| What |
What to do |
| Chats | Stay in the account where you had them. Copy anything you want to reuse into a document. |
| Projects | Recreate them in your Cornell account: copy each project's instructions and re-upload its files. |
| Preferences | Copy your personal preferences text from your personal account's settings into the same place in your Cornell account. |
| Memory | Each account has its own. What Claude remembers in one isn't available in the other. |
| Connectors | Personal connections, such as your own Google account, don't carry over. Only connectors Cornell has enabled are available. See What's Included in Claude Enterprise. |
| Desktop extensions | Switched off in your Cornell account, with a message that they're not allowed in your current organization. They stay installed and come back when you switch to Personal. |
| Usage limits | Separate. Using one account doesn't count against the other. |
Settings to leave alone
- Delete account in your Cornell account's settings says to contact your administrator to deprovision your account. Your Cornell account is managed by Cornell, so contact JCB IT if you think it needs to be removed.
- Close your personal account, also in your Cornell account's settings, does more than its name suggests. It closes your personal account and cancels your Pro or Max subscription, and it can move your personal chats, projects, and files into your Cornell account. The move is one-way: once your content is in the Cornell account, it can't go back, and it becomes subject to Cornell's settings and to removal when the pilot ends or you leave Cornell.
We recommend not using Close your personal account during the pilot. If you only want to stop paying for Pro, cancel the subscription from your personal account instead. If you subscribed through the Apple App Store, cancel it in your Apple ID settings, because closing the account won't stop Apple from charging you.
Claude Code
The desktop app's Code tab follows whichever account is active. If you use Claude Code in a terminal or editor, it asks you to Select organization: cornell.edu is your Cornell account and …@cornell.edu's Organization is your personal one. If you connected the wrong one, run /logout and sign in again.
The same rules apply as in chat: code and files you send from a Cornell session fall under Cornell's agreement, and personal sessions fall under your personal account's privacy settings.
Should I keep my Pro subscription?
That's your call, and nothing about the pilot requires you to keep or cancel it. Some things to weigh:
- Reasons people keep it: personal projects that shouldn't be in a Cornell-managed account, models or connectors the pilot doesn't include, desktop extensions, or wanting an account that stays with them after the pilot and after Cornell.
- Reasons people cancel: they mainly used Claude for coursework, and the Cornell account now covers that at no cost.
- Either way: the Free plan stays available if you cancel, so your personal chats remain accessible from a free personal account.
Questions? See Getting Help with the Student AI Pilot. For which features are on during the pilot, see What's Included in Claude Enterprise.