As artificial intelligence assistants increasingly handle sensitive personal, financial, and medical queries, protecting conversational privacy on shared or unlocked screens has become an essential concern, particularly as users juggle complex workflows across generative AI tools. Addressing user demand for confidential conversation spaces, OpenAI has announced Locked Chats for ChatGPT. Rolling out across web browsers, Windows and Mac desktop clients, and iOS and Android applications, the feature enables users to lock individual chat threads behind a personal four-digit PIN or device biometrics like Face ID and Touch ID, removing sensitive topics from plain view—a move that follows closely on the heels of OpenAI's recent Chrome extension update for multi-tab browsing.
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.
— ChatGPT (@ChatGPT)October 20, 2026
How Locked Chats works: Complete UI removal
When a conversation is designated as locked, it is removed from the visible sidebar chat history entirely. It no longer appears in pinned conversation stacks, recent lists, or general chat search queries, preventing casual over-the-shoulder peeking on shared laptops or office displays.
Instead, the thread is routed into a dedicated, hidden Locked Chats vault. Accessing the vault requires inputting the user's custom PIN or passing biometric verification, bringing an interface privacy standard that mirrors secure vaults found on modern smartphones and secure operating systems.
Isolated private memory architecture
A notable technical feature of the update is its compartmentalized memory management. When memory tracking is active on an account, Locked Chats maintain a completely isolated memory space shared strictly among hidden conversations. New personal facts, preferences, or details shared within a locked thread will update the private vault's context, but will never bleed into everyday unlocked chats, preventing sensitive context from surfacing during routine workplace sessions or public presentations alongside tools like Google Gemini.
ChatGPT now lets you lock your chats A small feature, but a big win for privacy.. cuz some conversations are meant to stay private.
— Sush (@2sush)October 21, 2026
Critical warning: Forgotten PINs trigger permanent deletion
OpenAI emphasized a crucial security rule: forgetting your PIN results in permanent, unrecoverable data deletion. If a user forgets their four-digit code and initiates a PIN reset, OpenAI's system permanently wipes all locked conversations, attached documents, and private memories associated with that PIN.
Even customer support personnel cannot retrieve deleted chats, underscoring the importance of memorizing access credentials. Furthermore, OpenAI clarified that locking chats does not constitute end-to-end encryption; underlying data retention policies remain unchanged, keeping the focus centered on client-side cybersecurity and on-device discretion.
Availability across the UAE and global tiers
The Locked Chats capability is rolling out globally to users across ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu subscription tiers (the feature is currently excluded from ChatGPT for Healthcare plans, shared link chats, and temporary sessions).
🚨 CHATGPT AHORA TIENE CHATS BLOQUEADOS 🚨 Locked Chats te permite sacar conversaciones sensibles del historial normal y guardarlas en un espacio protegido. en web y escritorio se desbloquean con PIN. en dispositivos móviles compatibles también podés usar Face ID, Touch ID o el bloqueo del teléfono. y hay un detalle todavía más importante: los mensajes nuevos que envíes dentro de esos chats no van a modificar la memoria que ChatGPT utiliza en tus conversaciones normales. no tenés que borrar un chat para mantenerlo privado. ahora podés separarlo del resto y dejarlo bajo llave. empieza a llegar desde hoy a Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise y Edu.
— kento iv (@0xKento_)October 20, 2026 The introduction of PIN and biometric locking on ChatGPT addresses a major user privacy request. By combining screen-level security with isolated memory partitions, OpenAI delivers a practical safeguard for managing confidential conversations across the modern technology landscape.
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