ChatGPT adds Locked Chats, letting users move sensitive conversations into a PIN or Face ID protected space
Keep sensitive conversations out of view with Locked Chats in ChatGPT. Move chats out of your regular history and search into a protected space you can unlock with a PIN on web and desktop, or a PIN, Face ID, Touch ID, or device unlock on supported mobile devices. New messages sent in locked chats won't update the memory used in your regular chats. Rolling out starting today to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans.
Context
It gives people who share devices or use ChatGPT for personal topics more control over who can see their chats.
ChatGPT is OpenAI's chatbot app. This is a first hand product announcement from its official account.
Deep dive
On October 20, ChatGPT announced Locked Chats, saying users can keep sensitive conversations out of view by moving them out of regular history and search into a protected space.
The space can be unlocked with a PIN on web and desktop, and with a PIN, Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock on supported mobile devices, the post said. New messages sent in locked chats won't update the memory used in regular chats, meaning ChatGPT will not carry what is said there into its memory of the user for other conversations.
The feature is rolling out starting October 20 to the Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, so it is not limited to paying users.
The demo video shows a user asking for help writing a marriage proposal, locking the chat, confirming a PIN, and then finding the chat under a Locked chats section. It also says locked chats can be found in Projects.
The post does not say whether locked chats are stored or encrypted differently on OpenAI's servers, so it is not clear whether the feature changes how OpenAI handles the data or only how chats are shown. It also does not say whether locked chats are still used for model training under a user's existing settings.
What to expect next
Watch for OpenAI to explain whether locked chats are treated differently on its servers, including for training and data retention, which the post does not cover. Also watch how Business and Enterprise administrators can see or manage locked chats, and whether rivals add similar privacy features. User feedback in the first days of the rollout will show whether the PIN and biometric options work smoothly across devices.