Safe Setup Guide: Grammarly for Legal Writing
How to configure Grammarly before using it near legal work in England and Wales: the training setting, where to turn it off, what not to type, and when to leave it out altogether
Privacy & Professional Conduct Notice
This guide helps you configure Grammarly safely, but you remain responsible for complying with the SRA Standards and Regulations. Never input confidential client information without proper safeguards.
Overview
Grammarly is a writing assistant that checks spelling, grammar and tone as you type. It is now part of a company called Superhuman, and Grammarly's privacy policy is published under that name.
Grammarly differs from a chatbot in one important way. You do not choose what to paste into it. Once it is installed, it checks text in the applications and websites where it is active. For a solicitor, that includes email to clients and documents on a matter unless you turn it off there.
An earlier version of this guide said Grammarly does not use your text to train its models. That is not what Grammarly's help centre says. For individual accounts, the training setting is on by default. See Step 2.
Every vendor fact below was checked against Grammarly's own pages on 29 September 2026. The pages are listed under "Sources checked" at the end of this guide. Settings and prices change, so follow the links before you rely on them.
Setup time: about 10 minutes Suitable for: non-confidential writing. For client work, only after your firm has approved it
Plans and prices
Grammarly's plans page gave prices in pounds when viewed from the UK on 29 September 2026.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 a month | For individuals |
| Pro | £10 | For individuals and teams. The page did not make clear whether this is per month on monthly or annual billing, or whether it includes VAT. Confirm at checkout |
| Enterprise | Contact Grammarly's sales team | The page lists data loss prevention, bring-your-own-key encryption, and custom roles and permissions |
What Grammarly says about your data
| Free, Premium and single-user Pro | Multi-user Pro bought on the website | Bought through Grammarly's sales team, and Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used to train models and improve the product | Yes by default. You can turn it off | Yes by default. An admin can turn it off for the organisation | Off by default |
| Who controls the setting | You | Admins only | Not shown as a toggle |
| Where data is hosted | Amazon Web Services, US East region | Same | Same |
| Saved documents | Documents saved in the Grammarly Editor are stored until you delete them or your account | Same | Same |
Three points that are easy to miss:
- Some data is still used with the setting off. Grammarly says it may still collect non-content data such as writing statistics, and may use that for product improvement and training.
- Sensitive fields are skipped on a best-efforts basis only. Grammarly says its apps ignore or exclude sensitive fields such as names, addresses, passwords and payment information on a best-efforts basis. That is not a guarantee.
- Transfers to the US. Grammarly's privacy policy says that for personal data about UK individuals it complies with the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and relies on standard contractual clauses for transfers to other countries.
Step 1: Decide whether to install it at all
Ask your firm's compliance or IT team first. Some firms do not allow browser extensions or writing assistants that send text to a third party.
If your firm allows it, create the account with your work email address.
Step 2: Turn off Product Improvement and Training
Free and Premium accounts
- Go to your account's privacy settings at account.grammarly.com/security/privacy.
- Select the Product Improvement and Training toggle to turn it off.
Pro accounts with one user
- Go to your account's data settings at account.grammarly.com/admin/data_settings.
- Select the Product Improvement and Training toggle to turn it off.
Pro accounts with more than one user
Only an admin can change the setting, at account.grammarly.com/admin/data_settings. Grammarly says the default is on. Ask your admin to confirm it has been turned off.
Grammarly says that with the control off, none of the content a user inputs into an application or website where Grammarly is active will be used for training or product improvement for other users.
If you later join a team account, Grammarly says you take on the setting chosen by that organisation's admin. Check it again.
Step 3: Turn Grammarly off where client work happens
Browser extension, on one website
- Go to the website.
- Select the Grammarly icon in your browser's toolbar.
- Turn off Allow extension to check text on… for that site.
Do this for your web-based email, your document or case management system, and any client portal you use.
Browser extension, on all websites
- Open a new browser tab.
- Select the Grammarly icon in your browser's toolbar.
- Turn off Check text with browser extension.
Grammarly for Windows and Mac, in one application or website
- Place your cursor in a text field in the application or website.
- On Windows, right-click the floating Grammarly widget. On Mac, select the Grammarly icon in the menu bar.
- Choose Turn off Grammarly.
Avoid Turn off Grammarly for 1 hour for client work, because it comes back on. To review what you have blocked, go to Settings, then Block list.
If you have activated Superhuman Go, Grammarly says you will see the Superhuman logo in place of the Grammarly one.
Step 4: Test that it is off
Open a blank email in the application you use for client correspondence and type a sentence with a spelling mistake. If Grammarly offers a correction, it is still active there. Go back to Step 3.
Repeat the test after a software update or on a new computer.
Your professional duties
This section summarises published rules and guidance. It is not legal advice, and it has not yet been reviewed by a solicitor.
- Confidentiality. Paragraph 6.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs requires you to keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents.
- Competence. Paragraph 3.2 requires the service you provide to be competent, and paragraph 3.3 requires you to keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date.
- Supervision. Under paragraph 3.5, where you supervise or manage others you remain accountable for the work carried out through them.
- Responsibility for output. The SRA's Risk Outlook report on AI (20 November 2023) says you "remain responsible and accountable for the outputs from AI you are using". It lists staff using online AI tools on client cases among the threats to confidentiality.
- Law Society guidance. "Generative AI – the essentials" says that if you are using a free, online generative AI service where you have no operational relationship with the vendor other than use, you should not put any confidential data into the tool. It also advises being able to say where data is processed, who processes it, how and where it is stored, and who has access to it.
- Data protection. Where the text contains personal data, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 are relevant. The Information Commissioner's Office says a restricted transfer of personal data outside the UK must be covered by UK adequacy regulations, appropriate safeguards or an exception. Grammarly hosts data in the United States.
Follow your firm's own AI and information security policy where it is stricter than this guide.
What not to type with Grammarly active
On a Free or Pro account, turn Grammarly off before typing:
- client names, or facts that would identify a client or matter
- advice to a client, and any privileged communication
- personal data about anyone, including health information and financial details
- National Insurance numbers, passport numbers or bank account details
- the terms of a settlement
- draft statements of case, witness statements and other court documents
Reasonable uses with Grammarly on:
- articles and marketing copy
- internal policies and training materials
- precedents and templates that contain no client information
On an Enterprise plan, what may be typed is a decision for your firm, made after due diligence on the contract.
Checking output
Grammarly suggests changes to wording. In legal drafting a change of wording can be a change of meaning.
- Read every suggestion before accepting it. Do not accept in bulk
- Reject changes to defined terms, and to words that carry a settled legal meaning
- Reject changes to quotations from legislation, judgments or contracts
- If you use Grammarly's AI writing features, check any statement of law against its source
If client information is typed with Grammarly active
- Turn Grammarly off in that application or website.
- If the text was in the Grammarly Editor, delete the document.
- Tell the person your firm's policy names, usually the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) or the data protection lead.
- Record what was typed, when, and what the training setting was at the time.
The ICO says a notifiable personal data breach must be reported to it without undue delay and not later than 72 hours after you become aware of it. Whether an incident is notifiable is for your firm to assess. Paragraph 7.11 of the SRA Code requires you to be honest and open with clients if things go wrong.
Quick checklist
Before first use
- Firm has approved installing it
- Account created with a work email address
- "Product Improvement and Training" turned off
- Grammarly turned off on client email, document systems and client portals
- Tested that it is off
Every time
- Grammarly is off before typing anything about a client
- Suggestions read one at a time
- Test repeated after updates
Sources checked
All read on 29 September 2026.
Grammarly
- Plans and prices
- Product Improvement and Training Control
- Turn off Grammarly on one or more websites
- How to choose where Grammarly for Windows and Mac works
- Privacy at Grammarly
- Security at Grammarly
- Trust Center
- Privacy policy (Superhuman) (effective 6 July 2026)
Rules and guidance
- SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs (version in effect from 11 April 2025)
- SRA Risk Outlook report: the use of artificial intelligence in the legal market (20 November 2023)
- Law Society: Generative AI – the essentials (page dated 1 October 2025)
- ICO: International transfers guide
- ICO: Personal data breaches guide
Need help?
If you have a question about this guide, or find that a setting has moved, contact hello@counsel.directory.
Review status: this guide has not yet been reviewed by a solicitor.
Disclaimer: This guide is general information about configuring a software product. It is not legal advice and it is not advice on your professional obligations. You remain responsible for complying with the SRA Standards and Regulations, data protection law and your firm's policies. Check with your firm's compliance and IT teams before using a new tool for client work.