Locked chats sit under Projects and stay out of regular history, pinned chats and search, opened with a four-digit PIN set on first use.
Resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats and files protected only by the old PIN, and OpenAI Support cannot recover them.
OpenAI says locking adds no end-to-end encryption and leaves the "Improve the model for everyone" setting and retention periods unchanged.
OpenAI says the feature is rolling out gradually, with free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts included, and some users may wait a few days.
OpenAI has added Locked Chats to ChatGPT, a feature that moves selected conversations into a protected area that stays closed until the user enters a PIN. The company announced it on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, pitching it for moments when someone else can see the screen or use the same device. Once a chat is locked, it disappears from the regular history, the pinned chats and search results. Users open the three-dot menu on a conversation and choose the lock option, after which the chat appears only under Projects, in a section named Locked chats, where its title stays hidden. Unlike temporary chats, which are deleted automatically and never appear in history, locked chats are stored permanently in the account.
The first time a user locks a chat, they create a four-digit PIN. On iPhone and Android phones, biometric options such as Face ID, Touch ID or a fingerprint can be used as well, while the web version and the macOS and Windows apps accept only the PIN. Voice mode can be combined with locked chats on Android and iOS, but Codex conversations cannot be locked. OpenAI says the rollout is gradual, so some accounts may need to wait a few days before the option appears. Engadget reports that free accounts are included, along with Go, Plus and Pro subscriptions, while ABC says the feature is arriving across all ChatGPT plans, including the free one.
OpenAI states that locked chats are not end-to-end encrypted, and its support page presents the feature mainly as a shield against people nearby rather than a secure vault. Locking a chat does not change the "Improve the model for everyone" setting, and it does not alter how long OpenAI retains conversations. Information the assistant remembered before a chat was locked is not removed automatically. New messages sent inside locked chats can update a separate memory shared only among the locked chats, while the ordinary memory used in other conversations is left untouched. Administrators of corporate or team accounts cannot unlock conversations or reset the PIN, according to ABC. Engadget adds that the feature does not offer a way around OpenAI's legal obligations if a user runs into trouble with an employer or the law.
Resetting the PIN deletes every locked chat, along with information and files stored only in those chats or protected solely by the previous PIN. The warning is aimed mainly at users who forget the code, and it leaves no room for recovery after a reset.
“This cannot be undone, and OpenAI Support cannot recover the deleted content.”
OpenAI's support team therefore cannot restore content removed this way, and the deletion covers every locked chat at once. Because the reset is described as permanent, the stored conversations cannot be brought back once the PIN has been changed.
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The feature moves selected conversations out of regular history, pinned chats and search, and opens them with a four-digit PIN or, on phones, biometric unlock. A forgotten PIN has a cost: resetting it permanently deletes every locked chat.
AI text based on reports by ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL, BFMTV, europa press and other publishers. Published .