ChatGPT locked chats are now rolling out, and they let you hide sensitive conversations behind a 4-digit PIN, Face ID, or Touch ID. Locked chats vanish from your sidebar, pinned list, and search, so a glance at your screen won’t reveal them. It’s a handy privacy layer, but OpenAI is clear that it isn’t encryption.
Here’s what you need to know before you start moving chats around.
Quick facts first, so you can skim.
- OpenAI announced the feature on October 20, 2026, and it’s rolling out gradually.
- It’s offered on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans.
- Works on web, mobile, and the new macOS and Windows desktop apps.
- Resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes every locked chat.
If you don’t see the option yet, your account probably hasn’t received it. Check back in a few days.
It matters because many of us now use ChatGPT for things we’d never type into a search bar, like health worries, salary talks, or private drafts. Until now, those sat in the same sidebar as everything else, one shoulder-surf away from anyone nearby.
How ChatGPT locked chats keep conversations out of sight
A locked chat moves out of your regular history and into a private space under Projects > Locked chats. Nothing about the chat appears in the sidebar, in pinned chats, or in search results.
You open that space with your PIN on web and desktop. On iPhone and Android, you can use Face ID, Touch ID, or your phone’s normal unlock method instead.
Access is temporary by design. On mobile, the locked area relocks after about a minute away or in the background, and you can tap “Lock now” to do it yourself. On the web, it relocks when you leave the tab, refresh, or close it.
How to lock a chat and set your PIN
Locking takes less than a minute. According to OpenAI’s help page, the steps look like this.
- Open the chat you want to hide and tap the ••• menu.
- Choose Lock chat and confirm.
- Create your 4-digit account PIN the first time you do this.
To change the PIN later, go to Settings > Security and login > Account PIN. Changing it keeps your locked chats intact. Unlocking a chat is the same menu: ••• then Unlock chat.
Voice works inside locked chats on web and mobile, but not on desktop. If you use ChatGPT’s voice mode, our look at the new GPT-Live-1.1 voices covers what each plan gets.
What happens to memory, files, and shared links
This is where locked chats get interesting, and where people trip up. Locked chats can read your existing regular Memory. But anything remembered only inside a locked chat stays there and doesn’t leak into your everyday chats.
Files work the same way. Anything you upload or create in a locked chat is hidden from your general file space and from other chats.
Shared links are the catch. You can lock a chat that already has a public link, but the link isn’t deleted. Anyone holding it can still read the old messages, so delete the link first if you want it gone.
Locked chats vs. temporary chats
The two features sound similar but do opposite things with your history. This table shows the difference.
| Feature | Regular chat | Temporary chat | Locked chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shows in sidebar and search | Yes | No | No |
| Saved after you close it | Yes | No | Yes |
| Needs PIN or biometrics | No | No | Yes |
| Creates memories | Yes | No | Only inside locked chats |
Use temporary chats for one-off questions you don’t want kept, since they disappear after the session and never create memories. Use locked chats for things you’ll come back to, like health questions, money planning, or a draft you’d rather keep private.
What locked chats don’t protect you from
Locking is an app-level screen, not a vault. OpenAI says it isn’t end-to-end encrypted, doesn’t change how long data is retained, and doesn’t change your model-improvement setting. If you’ve allowed training on your chats, locked ones follow that choice.
Anyone who knows your PIN, or who can pass your phone’s unlock, can open the chats and copy everything. Business and school accounts also keep locked chats in compliance logs, so an admin tool may still see them.
Some chats can’t be locked at all. That includes temporary, group, archived, and shared-link chats, plus Codex and ChatGPT for Healthcare conversations. If you’re worried about what an AI tool can see in your browser, read our guide to ChatGPT’s Chrome extension and open tabs too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I lock a chat I already started?
Yes. Open the chat’s ••• menu and choose Lock chat. Facts ChatGPT already saved to your regular memory stay there, though, so start sensitive chats in the locked area when you can.
What happens if I forget my PIN?
You can reset it, but the reset permanently deletes all locked chats, their memories, and their files. OpenAI Support can’t recover them.
Are ChatGPT locked chats encrypted?
No. They’re hidden behind a PIN or biometrics, but OpenAI still stores them under your account’s normal retention rules.
Can I search across my locked chats?
No. You can’t search all locked chats at once, and you can’t pin, archive, move, or share one without unlocking it first.
Should you use it?
Yes, if your worry is a coworker or family member glancing at your screen. It does that job well, and the separate memory behavior is a thoughtful touch. But don’t treat it as a safe for truly secret material, and write your PIN somewhere safe, because there’s no way back if you lose it.
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