OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Locked Chats, a privacy option that lets you hide specific conversations behind a four-digit PIN—or Face ID and other biometrics on iOS and Android—so people who pick up your phone cannot browse those threads in the usual places.
How Locked Chats work
Once locked, a chat no longer appears in your regular history, pinned chats or search results. It lives only in a separate Locked chats section. On phones, you can unlock with Face ID or another biometric system instead of entering the PIN every time. On mobile, locked chats also support voice mode, which helps if you use ChatGPT while travelling or multitasking.
OpenAI is rolling the feature out gradually. It will be available to free users as well as Go, Plus and Pro subscribers. You still cannot lock dialogues in Codex.
What the lock does—and does not—protect
Among ChatGPT security features, Locked Chats mainly shields conversations from people nearby who share or borrow your device. OpenAI has made clear that the feature does not provide end-to-end encryption. Your data remains stored on the company’s servers and can be used to train the model—common practice in the industry. As of October 2026, seven of the nine top chatbots collect user data by default.
That distinction matters for anyone discussing work, studies or personal matters in ChatGPT. Locking a chat does not hide it from OpenAI or from legal requirements. The European Union began fully enforcing the AI Act in August 2026, which has sharpened focus on how AI tools handle personal data, but device-level locking alone does not change those obligations.
Who should remember the PIN
If you forget your PIN and reset it, OpenAI will delete all locked chats and any files uploaded in them. Support cannot recover that content. Users who rely on ChatGPT Locked Chats for sensitive notes should memorise the PIN or stick to biometrics where available.
The company has also been expanding how ChatGPT looks and behaves—including a recent interactive Intelligent UI for new models—so more advanced experiments may sit on the same phone as everyday chats. A separate locked section is aimed at reducing accidental exposure in that setting. Professional uses, such as keeping research threads harder for a colleague to open on a shared device, are one reason the option exists; it still does not replace organisational data rules or encryption tools.
Aasan alfaaz mein
OpenAI ne ChatGPT mein Locked Chats naam ki facility shuru ki hai. Aap important baatein PIN ya Face ID se chhupa sakte hain taake phone uthane wala aasaan se na dekh sake. Yeh lock company ya qanoon se baatain nahi chhupata, sirf aas-paas ke logon se. PIN bhool kar reset kiya to locked chats aur files delete ho jati hain, is liye PIN yaab biometrics sambhal kar rakhein.
