ChatGPT now lets you hide private chats behind a PIN

ChatGPT now lets you lock individual conversations behind a four-digit PIN. The feature is called Locked Chats. A locked chat disappears from your normal history, so anyone borrowing your phone or computer is less likely to stumble on it. OpenAI is rolling it out gradually, so it may not be in your account yet.

What it does

To lock a chat, pick "Lock chat" from the conversation's menu. The chat moves into a separate Locked Chats section. It no longer shows up in regular history, pinned chats or standard search. You open it with your PIN. On supported devices, Face ID, Touch ID or your phone's unlock method also works. The same PIN works on every device tied to your OpenAI account. Biometric unlock, though, only applies to the device where you set it up.

You can keep chatting inside the Locked Chats area or start new conversations there. New information from those chats is stored in a separate Locked Chats memory area.

Who can use it

Locked Chats is available on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. It works on the web, in the iPhone and Android apps, and in the desktop apps for Mac and Windows. It is not available for ChatGPT for Healthcare. Some chats cannot be locked, including Temporary Chats, archived chats and group chats.

What it does not do

OpenAI is clear that this is not a vault. Locked chats are not end-to-end encrypted, which means they are not scrambled so that only you can read them. Locking also does not change how long OpenAI keeps the information. It does not switch off the "Improve the model for everyone" setting unless you turn that off yourself.

• Memory created before you lock a chat can stay visible in regular Memory.
• Share links you made earlier still work. Delete them by hand to shut off access.
• Work accounts still follow company rules, and approved compliance systems may access locked chats.
• Workspace administrators cannot unlock chats or reset your PIN.

The risk of forgetting your PIN

If you forget your PIN and reset it, all locked chats, their files and their memories are permanently deleted. Nobody can bring them back, not even OpenAI's support team. Pick a PIN you will remember before you move anything important into the locked area.

What to do

If you share a device with family, roommates or coworkers, Locked Chats is a simple way to keep casual eyes off a conversation. For highly sensitive details, OpenAI itself advises caution. The feature is about convenience and access control, not absolute confidentiality.