How Do I Lock a Chat in ChatGPT? What Locked Chats Hide — and What They Don't
OpenAI began rolling out Locked Chats on October 20, 2026. You can put individual ChatGPT conversations behind a PIN or Face ID/fingerprint so they drop out of your history and search. Here's how to turn it on, what it protects, and the PIN-reset catch that permanently deletes everything.
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Short answer. As of October 20, 2026, ChatGPT lets you lock individual conversations: open a chat's ••• menu → Lock chat, then set a four-digit PIN. Locked chats leave your regular history, pinned list and search, and reopen with your PIN (or Face ID / fingerprint on phones). It's rolling out to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu. Two things to know before you use it: it is not encryption — OpenAI stores and retains the chat exactly as before — and resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes every locked chat.
OpenAI started rolling out a feature called Locked Chats on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The idea is simple: some conversations — a health question, a salary negotiation you're rehearsing, a surprise you're planning — you don't want popping up when you share your screen in a meeting or hand your laptop to someone. Now you can tuck those specific chats behind a PIN without deleting them.
Here's what it does, how to turn it on, and where its protection stops.
How to lock a ChatGPT chat
According to OpenAI's help article (as reported by TechCrunch, Android Headlines and AndroidPure):
- Open the conversation you want to hide.
- Open the chat's ••• (three-dot) menu.
- Choose Lock chat and confirm.
- Create a four-digit PIN the first time, or enter your existing PIN after that.
The chat then moves into a separate Locked chats section (reported as sitting under Projects → Locked chats in the sidebar). It disappears from your regular chat history, your pinned chats and chat search.
Unlocking to read it: on web and desktop you type your PIN. On iPhone you can use Face ID or Touch ID; on Android, reports describe using the phone's fingerprint or screen unlock. Access times out after about a minute away from the chat, and there's a Lock now button to re-hide it immediately.
If you don't see the option yet, that's expected — OpenAI says the rollout is gradual and may not have reached every account.
Who gets it
OpenAI lists Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu. It is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare.
Some chats can't be locked at all: temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from a shared link, chats with scheduled tasks, and chats with meeting recordings.
What Locked Chats does not do
This is the part worth reading twice. OpenAI is explicit that locking a chat does not:
- add end-to-end encryption or create a separate encrypted vault;
- change how long OpenAI retains the chat;
- remove anything ChatGPT already remembered before you locked it;
- change your "Improve the model for everyone" setting — so if training is on for your account, a locked chat can still be used for training like any other.
In other words, Locked Chats is a screen-privacy feature. It protects you from the person looking over your shoulder, a family member on a shared device, or an awkward moment during a screen share. It does not change what OpenAI stores or who at OpenAI can access it.
If your concern is training or human review, the controls are different: turn off "Improve the model for everyone" in Settings → Data Controls, or use a Temporary Chat for one-offs. We cover that in Does Claude train on your data? (Plus ChatGPT and Gemini) and in our explainer on OpenAI's contractor review program.
On work accounts: OpenAI hasn't said whether locking hides a chat from Business or Enterprise workspace admins or compliance tools. Since locking doesn't change retention, don't treat it as a way to keep something from your employer — treat it as a way to keep something off your screen.
The PIN-reset catch
If you forget your PIN, you can reset it — but resetting permanently deletes all your locked chats, along with files and remembered information protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI Support can't recover them.
Changing your PIN while you still know it is different and keeps everything intact. Reporting on the help article puts that under Settings → Security and login → Account PIN.
The practical move: before you lock anything you'd hate to lose, store the PIN in your password manager. And if a locked chat holds something genuinely important — a draft, a decision record — copy it somewhere you control as well.
How memory works with locked chats
If you use ChatGPT's Memory, locked chats get their own separate memory, shared only across your locked chats. New details you mention in a locked chat update that locked-chat memory, not your regular Memory, so they won't surface in everyday chats.
The caveat runs the other way: anything ChatGPT remembered before you locked a conversation stays in your regular Memory. If something sensitive already made it in, delete it from your saved memories in ChatGPT's settings — locking the original chat won't remove it.
Locked chat vs. Temporary Chat: which should you use?
| Locked chat | Temporary Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Saved so you can come back? | Yes | No |
| Shows in history/search? | No (separate PIN-protected section) | No |
| Used for training? | Follows your account setting | No |
| Retention | Unchanged | Kept 30 days for safety, then deleted |
| Best for | Ongoing private topics you'll revisit | Sensitive one-off questions |
A good rule of thumb: use Temporary Chat when you don't want OpenAI keeping the conversation around for you, and Locked Chats when you do want to keep it — just not on display.
Should professionals use it?
It's worth turning on if you regularly share your screen, present from your own laptop, or use ChatGPT on a device other people can pick up. Locking the handful of chats you'd rather not have autocomplete into a search bar during a client call costs nothing.
What it shouldn't change is your judgment about what goes into ChatGPT in the first place. Client data, health records and anything covered by a confidentiality agreement are governed by your plan's data terms and your employer's AI policy — not by a four-digit PIN.
Sources
- TechCrunch — "ChatGPT now lets you lock your chats," October 20, 2026: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/chatgpt-now-lets-you-lock-your-chats/
- OpenAI Help Center — "Using locked chats in ChatGPT": https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001411-using-locked-chats-in-chatgpt
- Android Authority — "ChatGPT's latest feature will keep your chats shielded from prying eyes," October 20, 2026: https://www.androidauthority.com/chatgpt-rolls-out-locked-chats-3725766/
- Android Headlines — "You Can Now Lock Private ChatGPT Conversations Behind a PIN," October 20, 2026: https://www.androidheadlines.com/2026/10/openai-chatgpt-locked-chats.html
- OpenAI Help Center — Temporary Chat FAQ: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8914046-temporary-chat-faq
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Frequently asked questions
How do I lock a chat in ChatGPT?+
Open the conversation, open its ••• (three-dot) menu, choose Lock chat, and confirm. The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create a four-digit PIN; after that you enter your existing PIN. The chat then moves out of your regular history into a separate Locked chats section. OpenAI began rolling this out on October 20, 2026, so the option may not appear on every account yet.
Which ChatGPT plans get Locked Chats?+
OpenAI lists Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. It is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare. The rollout is gradual, so it may take time to reach your account.
Are locked ChatGPT chats encrypted?+
No. OpenAI says locking a chat does not add end-to-end encryption or create a separate encrypted vault. It also doesn't change how long the chat is retained or your 'Improve the model for everyone' training setting. It hides the chat from people looking at your screen or device — it does not change what OpenAI stores.
What happens if I forget my ChatGPT PIN?+
You can reset it, but resetting permanently deletes all locked chats, plus files and other content protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI Support cannot recover them. Changing your PIN while you still know it (Settings → Security and login → Account PIN, per reporting on OpenAI's help article) keeps your locked chats intact.
Does ChatGPT remember what I say in a locked chat?+
If Memory is on, locked chats get their own separate memory, shared only across your locked chats. New details from a locked chat won't carry into your regular chats. But anything ChatGPT remembered before you locked a chat stays in your regular Memory — locking doesn't remove it.
Can I lock a Temporary Chat or a group chat?+
No. OpenAI says Locked Chats isn't available for temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from a shared link, chats with scheduled tasks, or chats with meeting recordings.
Is a locked chat the same as a Temporary Chat?+
No — they solve opposite problems. A Temporary Chat isn't saved to your history and isn't used for training (OpenAI keeps it 30 days for safety). A locked chat is saved and you can return to it anytime; it's just hidden behind a PIN, and your normal training and retention settings still apply.
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