ChatGPT now lets you lock private chats behind a PIN

A new locked chats feature hides chosen conversations from your history, pinned chats and search. Opening them takes a 4-digit PIN or your device's own unlock. It is rolling out to every ChatGPT plan.

Published October 25, 2026 9:16am EDT | Updated October 25, 2026 10:25am EDT · 2 min read

Add ScoviAI on Google

OpenAI Help Center (OpenAI)· 2 min read

Key points

Locked chats were introduced on October 20, 2026
Locked conversations disappear from chat history, pinned chats and search
Opening them needs a 4-digit account PIN or device authentication
Rolling out gradually to Free, Go, Plus and Pro, plus Business, Enterprise and Edu

OpenAI has added locked chats to ChatGPT. You can now choose conversations you want to keep, but don't want anyone to stumble on, and lock them away.

It's a simple idea that matters if you share a laptop with family, hand your phone to a colleague, or use ChatGPT for health, money or personal questions.

How locked chats work

A locked chat stays in your account, but it no longer shows up in your chat history, your pinned chats or search.
To open it, you enter a 4-digit account PIN or use your device's own unlock, such as a fingerprint or face scan, where supported.

Nothing is deleted. The conversation is just out of sight until you unlock it.

Who gets it

OpenAI says locked chats are rolling out gradually to Free, Go, Plus and Pro users. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces are getting it too. If you don't see the option yet, it should arrive over the coming days.

Locked chats aren't the same as Temporary Chat

ChatGPT already has a Temporary Chat mode for conversations you don't want saved at all. Locked chats are the opposite: the chat is saved, just hidden. Use Temporary Chat for one-off questions, and locked chats for conversations you want to come back to.

Some users report chats that won't load

Around the same time, some users on OpenAI's community forum reported conversations showing a "Chat memory full" warning or chats that stopped loading. Some wondered whether this is linked to the new feature. OpenAI hasn't said what causes these reports, and we found no official link between them and locked chats. If it happens to you, OpenAI's help center is the place to report it.

What it means for you

Set a PIN you'll remember.
Lock anything sensitive you want to keep: medical questions, finances, job searches, private writing.
Remember a lock hides chats in ChatGPT; it doesn't change what OpenAI stores. Check ChatGPT's data controls for that.

Looking at a paid plan? Every current ChatGPT offer is on our ChatGPT tool page.

Sources

ChatGPT release notes (OpenAI Help Center)
ChatGPT Business release notes (OpenAI Help Center)

Source: OpenAI

ScoviAI Team is the ScoviAI newsroom. We write every article ourselves from the original announcements and link our sources. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.