ChatGPT can now hide individual conversations behind a PIN. With ChatGPT locked chats, you move a saved chat out of your sidebar, pinned chats and search into a protected “Locked chats” space that opens only with a 4-digit account PIN, or Face ID, Touch ID or your phone’s unlock method on mobile. OpenAI started rolling it out on 20 October to Free, Go, Plus and Pro users, and its help page also lists Business, Enterprise and Edu.
It is built for one situation: someone else seeing your screen. Think of handing your phone to a family member, sharing a laptop, or presenting in a meeting. Locking does not add end-to-end encryption. One more thing matters before you use it: if you forget the PIN and reset it, every locked chat is deleted for good.
What locked chats do, and what they don’t
A locked chat stays in your account. Its title and content disappear from regular history, pinned chats and conversation search, and it lives under Projects > Locked chats instead. OpenAI is unusually direct about the limits. Locking a chat does not:
- add end-to-end encryption or create a separate encrypted vault;
- change how long OpenAI keeps the conversation;
- change your “Improve the model for everyone” setting;
- remove anything ChatGPT already remembered from that chat before you locked it;
- override workspace policies, safety rules or legal and compliance obligations.
The PIN keeps chats out of casual view, but it does not change OpenAI’s retention rules or your organisation’s access to workspace data. In ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu, locked chats are still included in the message logs available through OpenAI’s Compliance Platform. Workspace admins cannot turn the feature off, unlock your chats or reset your PIN.
How to lock a chat in ChatGPT
Locked chats are rolling out gradually, so if the option is missing, your account may not have it yet. On desktop, you need the new ChatGPT app for macOS or Windows.
- Open the more options menu (•••) for the chat.
- Select Lock chat.
- Select Lock chat again to confirm.
- Create or enter your account PIN when asked.
The first time, you have to lock an existing conversation. After that, you can start new chats directly from Projects > Locked chats, and they never show up in regular history.
One detail is easy to miss. Other devices where ChatGPT is already open may keep showing the chat title until their lists refresh, and on iOS the loaded content can stay visible until the app refreshes. If you are locking a chat because you are about to share your screen, check your other open devices first.
Setting up the account PIN
ChatGPT asks you to create a PIN the first time you lock a chat or open the locked chats area. You enter four digits, then confirm them. The PIN belongs to your OpenAI account, not to one device, so the same PIN works on the web, the desktop app and your phone when you are signed in to the same account.
Face ID, Touch ID and Android’s device unlock are optional extras, set up separately on each phone. On iOS, turn on Use Face ID or Use Touch ID in Account PIN settings. On Android, choose Use device unlock when prompted. The PIN still works as a fallback.
To change the PIN, go to Settings > Security and login > Account PIN, then Change (or Change PIN on mobile). You need the current PIN for this, even if you normally use Face ID. Changing the PIN keeps your locked chats.
If you forget the PIN, your locked chats are gone
This is the part to take seriously. Forgetting the PIN does not delete anything by itself, but there is no recovery option. The only way back in is Reset PIN, and resetting permanently deletes all locked chats, anything ChatGPT remembered only inside them, and files protected by the old PIN. OpenAI says this cannot be undone and Support cannot recover the content. A workspace admin cannot help either.
Too many wrong attempts also lock you out for a while. So pick a PIN you will remember, and do not lock the only copy of something you cannot afford to lose. If a chat holds an important plan or document, copy the useful parts somewhere safe first.
Opening a locked chat, and how it locks again
Select Projects, then Locked chats, and enter your PIN or use device authentication. Opening the area gives you temporary access; it does not move the chats back into regular history. You cannot search across locked chats, so give them clear titles using Rename in the ••• menu.
Access ends differently depending on where you are:
- iPhone and Android: after 1 minute away from a locked chat or the Locked chats area, or 1 minute with the app in the background.
- Web: when you refresh or close the tab, or after you have been away from it for a while. Other tabs need the PIN again.
- Desktop app: after you have been away from that window for a while.
- Anywhere: tap Lock now to end access immediately.
On Android, screenshots of locked chats may come out blank or black, because the app hides protected content in screenshots. To bring a chat back to normal history, open it, choose Unlock chat (or Unlock on iOS) from the ••• menu and confirm.
Files, memory and shared links in locked chats
- Files: files uploaded or created in the chat are protected and hidden from Space while it is locked. Files you added from elsewhere in Space stay visible there.
- Memory: locked chats can use your regular memory, but new things ChatGPT learns inside them stay within locked chats and do not carry into regular chats. Unlocking a chat later does not move those memories into regular memory.
- Projects: locking a chat that sits in a project removes it from that project, along with the project’s instructions, files and memory.
- Shared links: an existing shared link keeps working for what was already shared. Delete the link separately if you want to stop access.
- Restrictions: you cannot archive, pin, move or share a locked chat, and anyone who can open it can still copy the text.
- Voice and ads: ChatGPT Voice works in locked chats on the web and mobile apps, but not in the desktop app. If your plan shows ads, they can appear in locked chats too.
Chats you can’t lock
The Lock chat option does not appear for temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats in the earlier Health experience, chats created from a shared link, chats with scheduled tasks or meeting recordings, chats tied to background tasks, and chats with responses saved as project sources. Codex conversations and local conversations in ChatGPT Work can’t be locked either, and the feature is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare.
Locked chats vs temporary chat
| Locked chat | Temporary chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Saved to your account | Yes, in Projects > Locked chats | No, unless you choose to save it |
| Shown in regular history and search | No | No |
| Needs a PIN to open | Yes, or device authentication on mobile | No |
| Used to improve OpenAI’s models | Follows your existing setting | No, while it stays temporary |
| Creates memories | Yes, but only for other locked chats | No |
| Best for | Private chats you want to return to | One-off questions you don’t need later |
Locked chats are useful when you want to keep a conversation but hide it from casual view on a shared device or screen. Temporary chat is better when you do not want a conversation in your history unless you choose to save it. Before locking anything important, keep a separate copy: resetting a forgotten PIN deletes every locked chat.
FAQ
Are ChatGPT locked chats encrypted?
Locking a chat does not add end-to-end encryption or create a separate encrypted vault. It changes where the chat appears and how you open it.
Why don’t I see the Lock chat option?
The feature is rolling out gradually, and some chat types cannot be locked. On desktop, it needs the new ChatGPT app for macOS or Windows.
Can OpenAI Support recover my locked chats if I reset the PIN?
No. Resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats and their protected files, and OpenAI says Support cannot recover them.
Can my company see my locked chats?
Admins cannot unlock them, but locked chats do not override your organisation’s access to workspace data. In Enterprise and Edu, they are still included in Compliance Platform message logs.
