ChatGPT locked chats – let you hide sensitive conversations behind a 4-digit PIN, but they don’t make those chats private from OpenAI. OpenAI began rolling out the feature in late October 2026. Locked chats leave your regular history and search, and open only with a PIN, Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock. Here is how it works, who gets it and one mistake that deletes everything.
Key takeaways
- What: ChatGPT locked chats hide selected conversations from your history, pinned chats and normal search.
- How to open them: Projects > Locked chats, then your 4-digit account PIN. Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock are optional on supported devices.
- Biggest risk: resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes all locked chats. OpenAI Support can’t recover them.
- Not encryption: OpenAI says locking doesn’t create end-to-end encryption, change retention or change your model-training setting.
- Rollout: gradual. If you don’t see Lock chat in the ••• menu, you don’t have it yet.
Last updated: 1 November 2026 · Status: rolling out · I’ll update this post as availability widens.
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What are ChatGPT locked chats?
According to OpenAI’s help page, locked chats keep selected conversations in your account while hiding them from regular chat history, pinned chats and conversation search. The aim is simple: keep a sensitive conversation out of view when you share your screen or use a shared device. You find them under Projects > Locked chats.
Fortune reported the launch on 23 October. It’s a screen-privacy tool, not a vault. That difference matters, and I’ll come back to it below.
How to lock chats in ChatGPT, step by step
- Open the ••• menu on the chat and select Lock chat, then select it again to confirm.
- The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create a 4-digit account PIN. Enter it twice.
- The chat moves to Projects > Locked chats. Its title and content leave regular history and search. Search results can take a while to update.
- To start a new locked chat, open Projects > Locked chats, enter your PIN and type a message.
- When you finish, select Lock now to end access straight away.
Face ID and Touch ID on iOS, and device unlock on Android, are optional. They work only on the device where you switch them on and don’t replace the account PIN.
Who gets ChatGPT locked chats?
| Item | What OpenAI says |
|---|---|
| Plans | Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu |
| Not available | ChatGPT for Healthcare |
| Can be locked | Cloud ChatGPT chats in Chat or Work mode |
| Can’t be locked | Codex conversations and local Work conversations |
| Desktop | New ChatGPT app for macOS or Windows |
| Voice | Works on web, iOS and Android where available; not in the desktop app |
What ChatGPT locked chats don’t do
This is the part most coverage skips. OpenAI’s help page lists what locking does not do. It does not:
- create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault;
- change how long OpenAI retains the chat;
- change your “Improve the model for everyone” setting;
- remove information ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat;
- override workspace policies, safety requirements, or legal and compliance obligations.
Notebookcheck put it bluntly: locked chats are not encrypted. If your goal is to stop OpenAI from keeping or training on a conversation, locking is the wrong tool. Check your data controls instead.
The PIN reset warning for ChatGPT locked chats
Forgetting your PIN deletes nothing by itself. Resetting it does. OpenAI says resetting your account PIN permanently deletes all locked chats, remembered information stored only within them, and files protected only by the old PIN. The action can’t be undone and Support can’t recover the content. A workspace admin can’t reset it for you either.
Changing a PIN you still know is safe. You enter the current PIN and set a new one, and your locked chats stay.
Other things to know before you lock a chat
- Shared links stay alive: locking a chat with a shared link doesn’t delete the link. Its earlier content stays visible and new messages aren’t added. Delete the link yourself.
- Projects: a chat you lock leaves its project and stops using that project’s instructions, files and memory.
- Auto-relock: on mobile, access ends after about one minute away. On web, refreshing or closing the tab ends it.
- Other devices: an open tab on another device may show the title until it refreshes. Check before you share a screen.
What it means for India
Shared family phones and laptops are common here, and so are screen shares in classrooms and offices. For that case, ChatGPT locked chats are useful: a private health question or a job-search chat stays out of the sidebar. But treat the PIN as a privacy curtain, not a safe. Don’t put anything in a chat you wouldn’t want OpenAI to retain under its normal policy, and write your PIN down somewhere safe.
Watch: ChatGPT locked chats, explained
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What we don’t know yet
- When ChatGPT locked chats reach every eligible account.
- How locked chats are handled in Business and Enterprise compliance tools beyond OpenAI’s general policy line.
- Whether OpenAI will add stronger protection, such as encryption, later.
- How long deleted chats take to leave OpenAI’s systems after a PIN reset. OpenAI points to its standard retention policy.
FAQ
How do I lock a chat in ChatGPT?
Open the ••• menu on the chat, choose Lock chat and confirm. If it’s your first time, you’ll create a 4-digit PIN.
Where are ChatGPT locked chats?
Under Projects > Locked chats. You enter your account PIN, or use Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock where supported.
What happens if I forget my ChatGPT PIN?
Nothing is deleted until you reset it. Resetting permanently deletes all locked chats and can’t be undone.
Are ChatGPT locked chats encrypted?
No. OpenAI says locking doesn’t create end-to-end encryption and doesn’t change retention or your training settings.
Hari’s take
ChatGPT locked chats solve a real, small problem: someone glancing at your screen. They don’t solve the bigger one, which is what happens to your data after you press send. Use them for privacy in the room. Use data controls for privacy from the platform. And please, save the PIN.
Will you lock any of your chats? Tell me in the comments.
Sources: OpenAI Help Center: Using locked chats in ChatGPT, Fortune, Notebookcheck, Times of India, Fello AI. Last updated 1 November 2026.
