OpenAI announces chat locking in ChatGPT
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OpenAI announced Locked Chats, a feature that moves conversations to a separate section and lets users protect them with a four-digit PIN, Face ID, or Touch ID on supported devices. Unlike Temporary Chats, locked conversations remain accessible and do not appear in regular chat history, pinned conversations, or search results. The feature is rolling out to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans, but is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare and may not have reached all users yet.
OpenAI says locking a chat does not create end-to-end encryption, change chat retention, or alter model-improvement settings. With Memory enabled, locked conversations use separate memory; resetting the PIN permanently deletes the chats, files, and other content protected by it.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The feature may make it easier to separate sensitive conversations from everyday history, but OpenAI notes that it does not provide end-to-end encryption or change retention or model-improvement settings. Permanent deletion after resetting the PIN also makes recovery an important practical consideration.
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