ChatGPT can now lock chats behind a PIN, but they are not encrypted

OpenAI started rolling out a new privacy feature for ChatGPT on Tuesday. Users can now lock individual conversations with a four-digit account PIN. On iPhone, Face ID or Touch ID can replace the PIN, and Android phones can use their regular device unlock. According to OpenAI, Locked Chats is available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu. It works on the web, in the iOS and Android apps and in the new ChatGPT app for macOS and Windows. ChatGPT for Healthcare is the only exception. The rollout is gradual, so some accounts do not have the option yet.

How to lock a chat

Open the three-dot menu of a conversation and select Lock chat. The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create a PIN, which then applies to your whole OpenAI account. The chat disappears from your history, your pinned chats and regular search. You can find it again under Projects in a section called Locked chats. Face ID and Touch ID are switched on under Settings, Security and login, Account PIN.

On mobile, access ends after one minute in the background. In a browser, reloading or closing the tab locks everything again. Android also blanks out screenshots of locked chats. Temporary, archived and group chats cannot be locked, and neither can chats with scheduled tasks or chats created from a shared link.

What locking does not do

OpenAI's help page lists the limits itself. Locking a chat does not "create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault." It does not change how long OpenAI keeps the conversation or the "Improve the model for everyone" setting. If that setting is on, a locked chat can still be used to train OpenAI's models. Anything ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat also stays in Memory.

The feature is meant to keep people around you from seeing a conversation, for example when you share your screen or use a shared device. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI also has in mind people planning a surprise who hand their phone to friends or family to show them something in another chat. Anyone who can open a locked chat can still copy its contents. In Enterprise and Edu workspaces, locked chats remain in the message logs of the OpenAI Compliance Platform. If your account sees ads in ChatGPT, they can also appear in locked chats.

A forgotten PIN deletes everything

The biggest catch is the PIN reset. If you forget your PIN, the only way back in is a reset, and that permanently deletes all locked chats, the files protected with them and any memories ChatGPT stored only inside locked chats. OpenAI states that "OpenAI Support cannot recover the deleted content." Workspace administrators cannot reset the PIN for you either. Changing the PIN is safe as long as you still know the current one.

Locked or temporary

Locked Chats does not replace Temporary Chat. Temporary conversations stay out of your history and are not used to train OpenAI's models while they remain temporary, but they cannot be saved as locked chats. The temporary chat can now remember you as well. Locked chats stay saved and follow the training setting of your account. If you want to keep conversations and keep them out of training, you have to turn training off separately. Our guide shows how to opt out of AI training at ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta.

I write about IT security and artificial intelligence. Cybersecurity is one of my regular topics, among others for Golem.de. At Notebookcheck, my focus is on practical AI for everyday users. I have worked hands-on with AI for years, most recently with a focus on AI agents and their use in everyday work, and I test tools and models myself rather than just reading about them.