Privacy and Data Controls

Yes, by default ChatGPT may use your chats to train OpenAI's models on personal Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts, and you can stop it: go to Settings > Data controls, turn off Improve the model for everyone, and select Done (Data controls in ChatGPT). Your chat history stays. Content from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu and ChatGPT for Healthcare workspaces, and from the API, is not used for training by default. The same settings page exports your data or deletes your account, and the Temporary Chat option keeps a single conversation out of training and history.

Quick facts

Does ChatGPT train on my data?

On personal Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts, "data sharing is enabled by default" (Data controls in ChatGPT), so your chats, and what Memory remembers, may be used to improve OpenAI's models. On Business, Enterprise, Edu and ChatGPT for Healthcare workspaces, OpenAI does not use content for training by default, and the same is true of API inputs and outputs (Data controls in ChatGPT). Information ChatGPT reads from connected apps and plugins follows the same split (Connected apps in ChatGPT).

Some data is excluded whatever the setting says: connected medical records and Apple Health data in Health in ChatGPT "are not used to train our foundation models or target ads, regardless of the model-training setting" (Health in ChatGPT), and accounts with Advanced Account Security are not used for training (Advanced Account Security).

0:18 Sharing less in the first place helps whatever the setting. In an OpenAI Academy video, the presenter crosses out the name, phone number and account number on a utility bill before photographing it for ChatGPT, since none of them matter to the question.

How to turn off training

Web: account menu > Settings > Data controls > turn off Improve the model for everyone > Done. iOS and Android: sidebar > profile icon > Data controls, then the same switch. Signed out: the choice is saved per browser in Settings.

The setting follows your account across web and mobile and keeps your chat history (Data controls in ChatGPT). Four exceptions to know:

• Thumbs up or down. Rating a response may let "the entire conversation associated with that feedback" be used for training even after you opt out.
• Voice. Voice Mode has its own switch for sharing audio, and video has another.
• Codex. Codex has a separate "Include environments" setting that this switch does not change.
• Trusted Access sessions. In programs such as Daybreak, content "may" be used even with the setting off.

Archiving a chat does not change whether it is used for training (Data controls in ChatGPT).

How long does OpenAI keep your chats?

Sources: Deleting and archiving chats, Temporary chat, Memory, ChatGPT agent, ChatGPT Voice, Deleting your account, read Nov 6, 2026.

The 2025 court-ordered retention

In 2025, in The New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI, a court order required OpenAI to keep consumer ChatGPT and API content indefinitely. It covered Free, Plus, Pro and Team users and API customers without Zero Data Retention; Enterprise, Edu and Zero Data Retention API customers were excluded. OpenAI says that obligation ended on Sep 26, 2025 and that deleted chats, temporary chats and API data are again removed within 30 days. It still holds a limited set of data from April to September 2025 that the Times is seeking, stored apart and open only to a small legal and security team (OpenAI, How we're responding to The New York Times' data demands, update of Oct 22, 2025).

Export your data

1. Web: profile menu > Settings > Data controls > Export data > Export > Confirm export. Mobile: Data controls > Export data.
2. Wait for the email: exports "can take up to 7 days to arrive".
3. Download the ZIP file within 24 hours, when the link expires.

Export works for Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu accounts, not Business, Enterprise or Healthcare. If you cannot sign in, use the Privacy Portal: Make a Privacy Request > I have a consumer ChatGPT account > Download my data (Exporting your ChatGPT history and data). Step by step: How to Export ChatGPT Data.

Delete chats or your account

Delete single chats or all of them from Settings > Data controls (see Chat History and Search and How to Delete ChatGPT History). To delete the account on the web: Settings > Account > Delete account > Delete, enter your email or phone and type DELETE, then Permanently delete my account. Your data goes within 30 days, the account cannot be reactivated, and the same email can make a new account after 30 days. Deleting cancels subscriptions billed by OpenAI, but not App Store or Google Play ones: cancel those first (Deleting your ChatGPT account; see How to Cancel ChatGPT Plus). Business, Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare users ask their organization.

The Privacy Center

Since Sep 21, 2026 ChatGPT gathers its privacy information and the links to every related setting in one place (ChatGPT release notes). Open it on the web from the account menu > Help > Privacy center, or Settings > Privacy Center on iOS (Privacy center on Android). It covers memory, personalized ads for Free and Go, location sharing, temporary and locked chats, connected apps, MFA, model improvement, and export or deletion. It is for Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business, not Enterprise, Edu or Healthcare, and opening it changes nothing by itself (Privacy Center in ChatGPT).

Other privacy settings

• Location (since Mar 26, 2026): sharing your device location is optional and off until you enable it in Settings > Data controls; precise location is deleted after use (ChatGPT release notes).
• Ads: Free and Go users in some countries may see ads; advertisers "never see your chats or personal details" (ChatGPT release notes). See Ads in ChatGPT.
• Memory: turn it off, or delete what it holds, in Settings > Personalization > Memory (Memory).
• Hiding chats: Locked Chats put a PIN on chosen conversations. Shared links are public; see Sharing Chats.

Frequently asked questions

Does ChatGPT use my conversations for training? On personal Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts, yes by default; turn off Improve the model for everyone in Settings > Data controls. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspace content is not used by default.

Can I opt out of ChatGPT training and keep my history? Yes. Turning off Improve the model for everyone keeps your chat history; only rated conversations and a few special programs may still be used.

How long does ChatGPT keep deleted chats? ChatGPT schedules deleted chats for permanent deletion within 30 days, except data that is de-identified or kept for legal or security reasons.

Is ChatGPT Plus private? Plus has the same data controls as Free: training is on by default and you can turn it off. Plans whose content is not used for training by default are Business, Enterprise and Edu.

How do I download all my ChatGPT data? Settings > Data controls > Export data; the ZIP file arrives by email within up to 7 days, and its link expires after 24 hours.

Does OpenAI sell my ChatGPT data? OpenAI's Privacy Center lists not selling data as part of its stated approach; ads in ChatGPT are shown without advertisers seeing your chats.

Sources

• Data controls in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Exporting your ChatGPT history and data, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Deleting your ChatGPT account, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Temporary chat in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Memory in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT agent, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT Voice, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Connected apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Health in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Advanced Account Security, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Privacy Center in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026 (entries Mar 26 and Sep 21, 2026)
• How we're responding to The New York Times' data demands in order to protect user privacy, OpenAI, updated Oct 22, 2025
• OpenAI Privacy Portal
• ChatGPT Privacy: What Not to Share and When to Double-Check / OpenAI Academy, OpenAI, Sep 16, 2026 (video)