ChatGPT allows you to lock your conversations with a PIN code and isolate them from your history.

OpenAI is introducing locked conversations in ChatGPT, protected by PIN code or biometrics, with a memory separate from the usual history.

A personal conversation, a confidential professional exchange, or a sensitive document can now be placed in a protected space within ChatGPT. With Locked Chats, OpenAI introduces a feature allowing certain discussions to be removed from the standard history and search results without having to delete them. Viewing them requires a four-digit PIN code or, on compatible mobile devices, biometric authentication. Gradually deployed starting October 20, 2026, across the various ChatGPT plans, this protection is accompanied by a memory separation: new information stemming from a locked conversation is not reused in ordinary discussions. Discussions Retained, But Removed from Visible History

Until now, users who wished to exclude a conversation from their history could notably delete it, archive it, or use temporary chat mode. These solutions meet different needs, but not all of them allow a discussion to be kept durably accessible behind additional authentication.

Locked Chats adds precisely this capability. A locked conversation disappears from the usual chat list, pinned conversations, and general search. It remains saved to the account, but is located in a specific space accessible from Projects > Locked chats. Discussion titles remain hidden until this space has been unlocked.

To protect an existing conversation, simply open its options menu, select Lock chat, and confirm the operation. Upon first use, ChatGPT asks to create a four-digit PIN code associated with the OpenAI account. This same code then works on devices connected to the account, while biometric authentication can be set up separately on compatible devices.

The protection also applies to files uploaded or created directly within the conversation. When they were saved in Space, these files are hidden from that space and its search results while the chat is locked. On the other hand, files originating from other locations retain their initial permissions: locking a discussion does not automatically protect all copies or sources to which it refers. Authentication Adapted to Each Device

On the web and in desktop applications, locked conversations open with the account PIN code. iPhone or iPad users can also use Face ID or Touch ID, when these methods are available. On Android, the feature can use the device's unlock mechanism.

Once authenticated, access remains temporary. On the web, it applies only to the tab in which the code was entered: refreshing the page or closing the tab terminates access. On mobile, conversations automatically relock after one minute spent outside their protected space or when the app remains in the background for that duration.

OpenAI also offers a Lock now command to immediately close the protected space. Once opened, discussion titles may momentarily reappear in the sidebar, without this meaning that the conversations have been permanently unlocked. The ability to view an exchange therefore remains distinct from the action of restoring it to the regular history.

However, locking may involve a synchronization delay between devices. A recently protected conversation may remain visible in an already open tab or on a device whose interface has not yet been refreshed. OpenAI recommends verifying these situations before sharing your screen. A Separate Memory for New Information

The other important new feature concerns the way ChatGPT remembers information. Locked discussions are not simply hidden in the interface: they feature a distinct memory operation.

When a conversation is locked, it can continue to use relevant information already present in ChatGPT's regular memory, if that feature is enabled. On the other hand, new information memorized from messages sent after locking can be reused in other protected conversations, but is not transferred to ordinary discussions.

This distinction allows, for example, continuing a confidential project across multiple locked conversations without newly memorized details reappearing in standard exchanges. However, it does not erase information that ChatGPT may have already retained prior to locking. Retrospectively protecting a conversation is therefore not sufficient to remove memories derived from it.

Behavior also evolves when an exchange is permanently unlocked. Its full content can then be taken into account by the regular memory, depending on account settings and organization policies. However, information specifically memorized in the locked space is not automatically transferred to this memory upon unlocking. Access Protection, Not an Encrypted Vault

The scope of this feature deserves clarification. Locked Chats does not create end-to-end encryption or an independent encrypted vault. The system adds access protection within the application and modifies the visibility of conversations, but does not change the data retention rules applied by OpenAI.

Locking also does not modify the Improve the model for everyone setting, which determines whether conversations can be used to improve models according to the conditions applicable to the account. Users wishing to limit this usage must therefore check this setting separately. Temporary conversations retain a different functionality in this regard: they are not added to the regular history and do not create memories.

In professional environments, locked conversations remain subject to the organization's security and compliance obligations. Administrators cannot directly unlock discussions or reset a user's PIN code. However, in Enterprise and Edu workspaces, messages remain accessible to OpenAI's authorized compliance mechanisms. Locking therefore does not constitute a means to exempt a conversation from the policies applicable in a workspace.

Finally, when a conversation already has a public or private share link, locking it does not delete that link. Previously shared content may remain accessible to individuals with the address. The share link must be deleted separately to terminate this access. A Forgotten PIN Code Can Lead to