OpenAI rolls out ‘Locked Chats’ in ChatGPT, lets users protect conversations with PIN and Face ID

OpenAI has introduced a new privacy feature for ChatGPT that allows users to lock individual conversations behind a four-digit PIN, Face ID, Touch ID, or device authentication, making it easier to keep sensitive chats hidden from others who may access their devices. The feature, called Locked Chats is being rolled out gradually across ChatGPT plans, including Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. It is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare. According to OpenAI, locked conversations are removed from regular chat history, pinned chats and standard search results, and are instead stored in a dedicated Locked Chats area. Users must authenticate with a four-digit account PIN or supported biometric methods to access them.How ChatGPT’s locked chat feature worksA locked chat is removed from regular chat history, pinned chats and conversation search, and moves into a separate Locked Chats area under Projects. Users can lock an existing conversation from its options menu, or start new conversations directly inside the locked area. Unlike a Temporary Chat, which leaves no trace in history, a locked chat is saved, and users can return to it at any time.Access is temporary. On the web and desktop, locked chats relock when the user refreshes the page, closes the tab or steps away from the window. On iOS and Android, access ends after a minute away from the locked area or in the background, and users can end it immediately with a “Lock now” option. Files uploaded or created in a locked chat are also protected and stay hidden from the user’s file space and from other chats.Memory and other limitsWhen ChatGPT’s Memory feature is on, locked chats get a memory of their own. Locked chats can draw on a user’s regular memories, but information picked up inside them stays out of regular chats. Locking a chat does not erase anything ChatGPT remembered before the chat was locked.Some conversation types cannot be locked, including Temporary Chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from a shared link, chats with scheduled tasks and chats with meeting recordings. A locked chat also cannot be archived, pinned, moved or shared unless it is first unlocked. If a chat already had a shared link, locking it does not delete the link, so users who want to cut off access to previously shared content need to delete the link separately.What it does not doOpenAI is clear that locking is not a security overhaul. It does not create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault, does not change how long OpenAI keeps a chat, and does not alter the “Improve the model for everyone” setting. Anyone who can open a locked chat can still copy its contents. TechCrunch noted that while locking limits who can see a conversation, it does not address broader concerns about how sensitive information is stored or handled, at a time when people increasingly use ChatGPT for personal topics.A warning on forgotten PINsResetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes all locked chats, along with anything remembered only within them and the files protected by the old PIN. OpenAI says the deletion cannot be undone and that its support team cannot recover the content. Changing a PIN, by contrast, keeps the chats, but requires the current PIN.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.