OpenAI Adds PIN-Protected Chats to ChatGPT

OpenAI has introduced a new privacy feature that allows ChatGPT users to lock individual conversations behind a four-digit PIN or supported biometric authentication, keeping selected chats out of their regular conversation history.

The feature, called Locked Chats, began rolling out on 20 October 2026 across ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. It is designed for users who want to keep personal or sensitive conversations out of view when sharing their devices with other people.

Once a conversation is locked, it moves to a dedicated section under Projects, where users must authenticate before opening it. The conversation remains saved rather than being deleted, allowing users to return to it when needed.

How Locked Chats Works

Users can lock an existing conversation by opening the three-dot menu beside the chat, selecting Lock chat and confirming the action. ChatGPT then prompts them to create or enter a four-digit account PIN.

On supported mobile devices, users can also enable Face ID, Touch ID or another supported device-unlock method. On the web and desktop, access is protected by the account PIN.

Locked conversations disappear from the regular chat history, pinned conversations and standard conversation search. Users can find them under Projects > Locked chats, authenticate and open the conversation.

The feature is rolling out gradually, so the Lock chat option may not appear immediately for every eligible account. OpenAI supports locked chats on the web, iOS and Android, as well as its newer macOS and Windows desktop apps. Some conversation types, including temporary chats, archived chats, group conversations and chats containing meeting recordings, cannot be locked.

Locked Chats Does Not Mean Full Encryption

Although the feature adds another layer of access protection, it does not create an end-to-end encrypted conversation or a separate encrypted vault.

Locking a chat also does not change OpenAI's data-retention policies or the user's existing setting governing whether conversations can be used to improve its models. Users should therefore not treat the feature as a replacement for reviewing their privacy settings or as a guarantee that nobody else can access the information under any circumstances.

The feature also does not automatically erase information ChatGPT may have remembered from a conversation before it was locked. Where Memory is enabled, locked chats can use relevant information from regular Memory, while new information from locked conversations is kept separate from regular Memory.

This distinction is important for users who discuss personal matters with ChatGPT and assume that hiding a conversation also removes information previously retained through Memory.

Forgotten PINs Come With a Warning

OpenAI has attached an important condition to the feature: resetting a forgotten account PIN permanently deletes all locked chats and content protected only by the previous PIN, including associated files and information stored exclusively within those conversations.

The company warns that this deletion cannot be undone and that OpenAI Support cannot recover the deleted content. Users who still know their current PIN can change it without deleting their locked chats.

For businesses using ChatGPT Enterprise or Edu, the feature does not override organisational policies or compliance obligations. Locked conversations remain included in message logs available through the OpenAI Compliance Platform, meaning the feature does not remove authorised organisational access to records.

Users can permanently unlock a conversation through its options menu to return it to their regular chat history.

Locked Chats gives users a way to keep selected conversations out of sight without losing them. However, anyone using ChatGPT for confidential work or sensitive personal information still needs to understand the difference between restricting access to a chat and changing how the service stores or handles its data.