How to lock ChatGPT chats with a PIN, and what the lock won’t do

What locked chats are and who gets them

According to OpenAI’s ChatGPT release notes for October 20, 2026, locked chats let you keep selected conversations in your account while hiding them from your regular chat history, pinned chats and conversation search. Once locked, a conversation moves to a dedicated Locked chats section under Projects in the sidebar. Opening that section requires a 4-digit PIN that belongs to your account rather than to a device, so the same code works on every supported device where you are signed in.

The release note lists Free, Go, Plus and Pro. OpenAI’s help article “Using locked chats in ChatGPT”, as reported by TechCrunch and Fortune, extends that to Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, with ChatGPT for Healthcare as the only exclusion. It works on the web, in the iOS and Android apps, and in the new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS and Windows in both Chat and Work mode. Because the rollout is gradual, a missing menu option usually means your account simply hasn’t received it yet.

Until now, the only ways to keep a conversation away from prying eyes were to delete it or to start it as a Temporary Chat. Locking adds a middle option: the conversation stays saved, but it no longer sits in a sidebar that anyone glancing at your screen can read.

How to lock ChatGPT chats, step by step

The flow is the same on web, mobile and desktop:

1. Open the conversation you want to protect.
2. Click the three-dot (more options) menu for that chat and choose Lock chat.
3. Confirm the prompt.
4. The first time, create your 4-digit account PIN. Skip birth years, 1234 and your phone’s own passcode.
5. The chat now lives in Projects under Locked chats. Enter the PIN to open it.

To use biometrics on a phone, go to Settings, then Security and login, then Account PIN, and turn on Face ID, Touch ID or Android device unlock. On the web and in the desktop app you unlock with the PIN.

When the lock comes back on by itself

• In a browser: the PIN unlocks only the current tab. Refreshing or closing the tab locks the section again.
• On iOS and Android: access ends after the app has been in the background for one minute.
• Android only: screenshots of locked chats are blocked, so the capture comes out black.

Chats you can’t lock

Locking works on standard conversations stored in the cloud. Reporting based on OpenAI’s help article lists these exceptions:

• Temporary chats
• Archived chats
• Group chats
• Chats created from a shared link
• Chats with scheduled tasks or meeting recordings
• Codex sessions and local Work conversations on your computer

Voice mode still works inside locked chats on the web, iOS and Android, but not in the desktop app.

What locking protects, and what it doesn’t

OpenAI frames this as protection from the people around you: a colleague watching your screen share, a family member on a shared laptop, a friend you hand your phone to. It is not a change to how your data is stored. In the help article’s words, locking does not “create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault.” The table below sets locked chats against Temporary Chat, the feature people most often confuse it with.

A few more limits that catch people out:

• Existing memories stay put. Anything ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat remains in your regular Memory. Review it in settings if that matters.
• Shared links keep working. If you shared the conversation earlier, that link still shows what was shared. Messages sent after locking aren’t added, but you have to delete the link yourself to revoke access.
• Files are hidden, not moved. Files uploaded or created inside a locked chat are hidden from Space until you unlock. Files already saved in Space before you attached them stay visible there.
• Work accounts still log. In Enterprise and Edu workspaces, locked chats remain in the message logs available through OpenAI’s Compliance Platform. Admins can’t unlock your chats or reset your PIN, but the lock doesn’t override workspace policies or legal obligations.

Forget the PIN and the locked chats are gone

There is no recovery for a forgotten PIN, only a reset. Resetting permanently deletes every locked chat, any memories stored only inside locked chats, and files or other content protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI says the deletion cannot be undone and that OpenAI Support cannot recover it. Workspace admins can’t reset the PIN on your behalf either.

Changing a PIN you still know is safe and deletes nothing; it lives under Settings, Security and login, Account PIN. Store the PIN in your password manager, and if a locked conversation holds something you can’t afford to lose, such as a contract draft or a long research thread, export the important parts to your own files as well.

Lock, Temporary Chat or a settings change?

Pick the tool that matches the risk you actually have:

• Shared family computer or tablet: locking is built for this. Closing the browser tab is enough to relock.
• Screen sharing on Zoom, Teams or Meet: lock sensitive threads before the call so their titles never appear in the sidebar.
• You don’t want the conversation saved at all: start a Temporary Chat instead. Temporary chats can’t be locked later, so decide at the start.
• You don’t want your chats used for training: locking won’t do it. Turn off “Improve the model for everyone” in your settings.
• Company-managed account: assume your employer’s compliance logs still include locked chats, and keep personal topics on a personal account.

No paid plan is required. OpenAI’s release note covers Free users from day one of the rollout, so if your plan is Free or Go you only need to wait for the option to appear in your chat menu.