ChatGPT Locked Chats lets you move selected saved conversations out of normal history, pinned chats, and regular search, then reopen them with a four-digit account PIN or supported device authentication. The feature is rolling out gradually, so you may not see it yet.[1][2]
Important: Locked Chats is an access-control and privacy-screen feature, not end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault. It does not change OpenAI’s retention rules or your “Improve the model for everyone” setting.[2]
Quick setup: lock an existing ChatGPT conversation
- Open the conversation you want to protect.[2]
- Open its more options (•••) menu.[2]
- Select Lock chat.[2]
- Select Lock chat again to confirm.[2]
- Create or enter your four-digit account PIN when prompted.[2]
The conversation moves to Projects → Locked chats and disappears from regular history and regular conversation search. OpenAI notes that search results and conversation lists on devices already open may take time to refresh, so refresh other devices before screen-sharing.[2]
How to open a locked chat
- Select Projects.[2]
- Open Locked chats.[2]
- Enter your account PIN or use supported device authentication.[2]
- Select the conversation.[2]
Opening a locked chat grants temporary access; it does not permanently return the conversation to normal history. Select Lock now when you are finished.[2]
On the web, access ends when you refresh or close that tab. On iOS and Android, access automatically ends after one minute away from the Locked Chats area or one minute with the app in the background.[2]
Who can use Locked Chats?
OpenAI says Locked Chats is available for ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts, with gradual rollout across the web, iOS, Android, and the new macOS and Windows desktop app. It is not available in ChatGPT for Healthcare.[1][2]
If the Lock chat command is missing, first allow for the gradual rollout. The option can also be unavailable because that conversation type is not eligible.[2]
What Locked Chats protects—and what it does not
What it does
- Hides selected chat titles and content from regular history, pinned chats, and regular conversation search.[2]
- Requires a four-digit account PIN to enter the Locked Chats area.[2]
- Supports Face ID or Touch ID on compatible iOS devices and device unlock on compatible Android devices.[2]
- Protects files uploaded or created inside that chat so they are available only from that locked conversation while it remains locked.[2]
- Keeps new memories created inside locked chats separate from regular chats, when Memory is enabled.[2]
What it does not do
- It does not create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault.[2]
- It does not alter chat retention or model-improvement settings.[2]
- It does not remove information ChatGPT remembered before you locked the conversation.[2]
- It does not override employer or school workspace policies, compliance access, legal obligations, or safety requirements.[2]
- It does not revoke a shared link that already exists for the chat.[2]
That final point matters: if a conversation had a shared link before you locked it, previously shared content can remain available through that link. Delete the shared link separately if you want to stop that access.[2]
The PIN warning you should know before using this feature
Changing a PIN and resetting a PIN are very different actions. If you know the current PIN, you can change it without deleting your locked conversations. If you forget it and reset it, OpenAI says the reset permanently deletes all locked chats, memories stored only inside them, and files or other content protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI Support cannot recover that deleted content.[2]
A practical precaution is to keep irreplaceable source documents in an appropriately secured storage system rather than relying on a locked ChatGPT conversation as the only copy.
Locked Chats versus Temporary Chat
Choose Locked Chats when you want to save a conversation but hide it behind a PIN or supported device authentication. It follows your existing model-improvement setting and can use or create memories according to the Locked Chats memory rules.[2]
Choose Temporary Chat when you do not want the conversation saved in normal history or used to improve OpenAI’s models while it remains temporary. Temporary chats do not create or update memories and cannot be locked unless first converted into regular saved chats.[2]
| Need | Better choice |
|---|---|
| Keep and revisit a conversation behind a PIN | Locked Chats |
| Keep a chat out of normal history and prevent new memories | Temporary Chat |
| Store passwords, recovery codes, or high-value secrets | Use a dedicated password manager or approved secure vault, not a chat |
| Hide a chat title while screen-sharing | Locked Chats, then refresh other open devices |
Conversations that cannot be locked
OpenAI lists several ineligible conversation types, including temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from shared links, chats with scheduled tasks, meeting recordings or background tasks, and chats whose responses were saved as project sources. Codex conversations and local Work conversations also cannot be locked.[2]
A locked chat also cannot be archived, pinned, moved, or shared. Permanently unlock it first if you need one of those actions.[2]
How memory behaves in locked chats
With Memory enabled, a locked chat may use relevant information from regular Memory. New information remembered after a chat is locked can be used by other locked chats, but it does not carry into regular chats. Locking a conversation does not erase anything already remembered before the lock was applied.[2]
After you permanently unlock the conversation, the full chat may again be used by regular Memory if your settings and workspace policies permit it. Memories created while it was locked are not automatically copied into regular Memory.[2]
How to permanently unlock a chat
- Open Projects → Locked chats and authenticate.[2]
- Open the conversation.[2]
- Open the more options (•••) menu.[2]
- Select Unlock chat (or Unlock on iOS).[2]
- Confirm the action.[2]
The chat returns to regular history. If it originally came from a project, it returns to regular history rather than its previous project.[2]
Practical privacy checklist
- Use a PIN that is not easy for someone nearby to guess.
- Enable Face ID, Touch ID, or Android device unlock when available.
- Press Lock now before handing over your phone or computer.
- Refresh ChatGPT on other open devices before presenting or screen-sharing.
- Delete old shared links separately; locking does not revoke them.
- Keep an independent copy of irreplaceable files because a forgotten-PIN reset deletes protected content.
- Treat Locked Chats as a visibility control, not an encrypted secrets manager.
- Check workplace retention and compliance policies before putting sensitive business data into any AI chat.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I see the Lock chat option?
The rollout is gradual, so it may not have reached your account. The command is also unavailable for ineligible chat types such as temporary, archived, group, scheduled-task, meeting-recording, background-task, and certain shared or project-related conversations.[2]
Can I recover locked chats if I forget the PIN?
Not after resetting the PIN. OpenAI says a PIN reset permanently deletes all locked chats and content protected only by the previous PIN, and Support cannot recover it.[2]
Does locking a ChatGPT chat encrypt it end to end?
No. OpenAI explicitly says locking does not create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault.[2]
Can my employer or school administrator open a locked chat?
Workspace administrators cannot unlock the chat or reset your PIN. However, Locked Chats does not override organizational policies, and eligible Enterprise and Edu messages remain available through OpenAI’s Compliance Platform.[2]
Do locked chats affect ChatGPT Memory?
They use a separate memory boundary for new remembered information: new memories from locked chats can be used by other locked chats but do not carry into regular chats. Existing regular Memory may still inform a locked conversation.[2]
Can I use voice mode in a locked chat?
OpenAI says Voice can be used in locked chats on the web, iOS, and Android where available, but not in the desktop app.[2]
Bottom line
Locked Chats is useful for hiding saved conversations from casual viewing while preserving access across supported devices. Use it for privacy during screen-sharing or on shared devices, but do not mistake it for encrypted secret storage. Remember the two biggest caveats: existing shared links are not revoked, and resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes protected chats and files.[2]