Locked Chats

Locked chats, new in ChatGPT on Oct 20, 2026, hide chosen conversations from your history and search behind a 4-digit account PIN or Face ID, on every plan from Free to Enterprise; resetting the PIN deletes them.

To lock a chat in ChatGPT, open the chat's ••• menu and select Lock chat, then confirm with Lock chat (Using locked chats in ChatGPT). The chat leaves your regular history, pinned chats and search, and opens only with your 4-digit account PIN, or Face ID, Touch ID or the device unlock on a phone. Locked chats arrived on Oct 20, 2026. They hide a conversation from anyone using your account or device; they do not encrypt it or change what OpenAI keeps.

Quick facts

Launched	Oct 20, 2026, rolling out gradually
Plans	Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu; not ChatGPT for Healthcare
Opens with	4-digit account PIN; Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock on mobile
Where to find them	Projects > Locked chats
Relocks	After 1 minute away on mobile; on refresh or tab close on the web
Forgotten PIN	Resetting it deletes all locked chats
Apps	Web, iOS, Android and the new ChatGPT desktop app

How to lock a chat

Open the conversation, or hover over it in the sidebar.
Select the ••• menu.
Select Lock chat, then Lock chat again to confirm.

To open a locked chat, go to Projects > Locked chats and enter the PIN or use your phone's biometric unlock. To unlock one for good, open its ••• menu and select Unlock chat (Unlock on iOS). To change the PIN, go to Settings > Security and login > Account PIN > Change (Using locked chats in ChatGPT).

Forgetting your PIN

This is the part to read before locking anything. "Resetting your account PIN permanently deletes all locked chats", and "OpenAI Support cannot unlock your chats or bypass your account PIN" (Using locked chats in ChatGPT). There is no recovery: forget the PIN, and the only way back into the feature is to lose every locked chat. Store the PIN in a password manager.

What locking does and does not do

A locked chat is hidden "from your regular chat history, pinned chats, and regular conversation search" (Using locked chats in ChatGPT). Files uploaded inside it open only in that chat and do not show in search (Finding your chats, projects, and files).

Locking does not "create end-to-end encryption", change how long OpenAI keeps the chat, or change your "Improve the model for everyone" setting (Using locked chats in ChatGPT). If you do not want a chat used for training, turn that setting off (see Privacy and Data Controls) or use a Temporary Chat from the start.

Access ends on its own: on mobile after one minute away from the chat or one minute with the app in the background, and on the web when you refresh or close the tab. On Android, screenshots of locked chats may come out blank.

Two things about shared links: locking a chat does not delete a link already made, and messages sent while it is locked are not added to that link (Sharing conversations). Delete the link if you no longer want it public.

What cannot be locked

According to the help article, these cannot be locked: temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats opened from a shared link, branched chats, chats with Scheduled Tasks, chats with meeting recordings (Record Mode), Codex chats and local ChatGPT Work chats. On the desktop, the feature needs the new ChatGPT app, not ChatGPT Classic (Using locked chats in ChatGPT).

Locked chats compared

Option	Hidden from history	Kept by OpenAI	Who it protects against
Locked chat	Yes, behind a PIN	As a normal chat	People using your account or device
Temporary Chat	Yes, and gone when closed	Up to 30 days	Your own history and training
Archived chat	From the sidebar only, still searchable	As a normal chat	Clutter
Deleted chat	Yes	Removed within 30 days	Everyone, permanently

Sources: Using locked chats in ChatGPT, Temporary chat in ChatGPT, Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT, read Nov 6, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How do I lock a chat in ChatGPT? Open the chat's ••• menu, select Lock chat and confirm; the chat then lives under Projects > Locked chats and opens with your 4-digit account PIN.

What happens if I forget my ChatGPT PIN? You can reset it, but resetting the account PIN permanently deletes all locked chats, and OpenAI Support cannot unlock them for you.

Are locked chats encrypted? No. ChatGPT's locked chats are hidden behind a PIN, but locking does not add end-to-end encryption or change how long OpenAI keeps the chat.

Are locked chats available on the free plan? Yes. Locked chats work on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, as of Nov 6, 2026, but not on ChatGPT for Healthcare.

Can I lock a chat on the ChatGPT desktop app? Yes, in the new ChatGPT desktop app; ChatGPT Classic does not have it, and Codex and local Work chats cannot be locked.