OpenAI adds PIN‑protected chats to ChatGPT

OpenAI has introduced a new privacy feature that lets users lock individual ChatGPT conversations with a four‑digit PIN, or use Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices, so that the chats remain hidden from anyone who might see the screen.

How the feature works

Locked chats are kept separate from the main chat history, pinned chats and search results, and they are not protected by end‑to‑end encryption. The feature does not change how long OpenAI keeps the data or how the model is trained from the conversation.

Locked chats have their own memory that is shared only among conversations in the locked‑chat section; new messages added after locking update that memory but do not affect the regular chat memory, preventing leakage of information into other chats.

Resetting the PIN permanently deletes every locked chat, any files stored in the locked‑chat project, and other content protected by the previous PIN, and the data cannot be recovered by OpenAI support.

The feature is being rolled out gradually; it is available for Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, but it cannot be used with temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats from shared links, scheduled tasks, meeting recordings, or the ChatGPT for Healthcare product.