Locked Chats is ChatGPT's October 2026 privacy feature: lock any conversation behind a 4-digit PIN (or Face ID / Touch ID on phones) so it disappears from your history and search until you unlock it. It hides chats from people near you — but not from OpenAI: there's no end-to-end encryption, and forgetting your PIN permanently deletes everything locked.
Picture this: you hand your phone to a friend to show holiday photos, and your ChatGPT sidebar is right there — including the conversation where you vented about your boss or discussed something medical. On October 20, 2026, OpenAI shipped an answer: Locked Chats, a way to put individual conversations behind a PIN or your phone's biometric unlock.
It's rolling out gradually to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts, so it may take days to reach you. Here's the setup, the genuinely clever parts, and the limits nobody should misunderstand.
What are Locked Chats, exactly?
In plain English: pick a conversation, lock it, and it vanishes from your chat history, pinned chats, and search. It moves into Projects > Locked chats, its title hidden until you enter your 4-digit PIN — or Face ID, Touch ID, or Android device unlock on phones.
One PIN works on every device you're signed into (it's tied to your OpenAI account); biometrics are switched on per phone. While locked, a chat can't be archived, pinned, moved, or shared.
How to lock a chat in ChatGPT
1. Open the conversation and tap the ••• menu next to it.
2. Choose Lock chat and confirm. The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create and confirm a four-digit PIN.
3. Find it later under Projects > Locked chats — enter your PIN or use biometrics to get back in.
4. To unlock for good, open the chat, tap •••, and choose Unlock chat.
To change your PIN (while you still know it): Settings > Security and login > Account PIN.
Access expires on its own. On web and desktop, locked chats relock when you leave or refresh the tab; on phones, one minute away from a locked chat (or one minute with the app in the background) locks it again. The Lock now button ends access immediately — use it before handing your phone to anyone.
The clever part: locked chats get their own memory
Here's the detail most coverage skips, and it's the most useful bit. With ChatGPT Memory on, the Locked chats area keeps a separate memory, shared only between your locked conversations. Something personal you mention there never leaks into your regular chats — even after you unlock the conversation. One caveat: it only runs forward. Anything ChatGPT had already remembered before you locked a chat stays in your main profile.
What the lock does NOT protect
The name "Locked Chats" promises more than it delivers, and OpenAI is unusually direct about it: locking does not provide end-to-end encryption, and it does not change how long your data is kept. In practice:
- OpenAI can still read your locked chats — they're stored on its servers under normal retention rules.
- Your training setting is untouched. Opted into "Improve the model for everyone"? Locked chats are treated like any other conversation.
- Work accounts aren't exempt — on Enterprise and Edu plans, locked chats still appear in compliance-platform conversation logs.
- Anyone who opens a locked chat can copy it. The lock stops casual viewing, not determined copying.
So treat it as a curtain, not a safe: it stops the person next to you, not OpenAI's servers. Our online safety guide covers the habits that actually keep you safe.
The one mistake that deletes everything
Read this twice: forget your PIN and the only way back in is a reset — which permanently deletes all locked chats and any files in the locked area. It cannot be undone, and OpenAI Support cannot recover the content. Changing the PIN while you still know it is safe; resetting because you forgot it is not. Write the PIN down somewhere secure the day you create it.
Locked vs Temporary vs Archived chats
Three ways to hide a conversation — very different things:
- Locked — hidden behind a PIN, kept in history, reopenable anytime.
- Temporary — never saved, no memory updates. (Can't be locked.)
- Archived — out of the sidebar, one click away, no PIN. (Can't be locked.)
Also excluded: group chats, shared-link chats, scheduled-task chats, meeting recordings, and Codex conversations. Voice mode isn't available inside locked chats on desktop.
Should you use it?
Honestly? If you share a device, present your screen at work, or just like sensitive conversations out of your main history — yes. It's a sensible extra layer, the separate memory is a genuinely thoughtful touch, and setup takes seconds.
Just go in with clear eyes: it's screen privacy, not data privacy. Pair it with the real protections — a strong account password, two-factor authentication, and thinking twice before pasting personal details into any chatbot (see our Claude vs ChatGPT comparison).
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT Locked Chats free?
Yes — it's rolling out to all plans (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu) in stages. No sign of the option yet? It should arrive within days.
What happens if I forget my Locked Chats PIN?
Resetting the PIN is the only way back in — and it permanently deletes every locked chat and locked file. It can't be undone, and OpenAI Support can't recover anything. Write your PIN down somewhere safe.
Are locked chats encrypted? Can OpenAI read them?
No end-to-end encryption. Locking hides chats from people near you but doesn't change data retention, and your model-training setting stays as it was.