Do you share your phone or computer with family, friends or coworkers? Then you probably have a few ChatGPT conversations you would rather keep private - health questions, money plans, a CV, or personal notes.
On October 20, 2026, OpenAI started rolling out Locked Chats in ChatGPT. It lets you hide selected conversations behind a 4-digit PIN, or Face ID / Touch ID on supported devices. Here is how it works, step by step.
What you need to know in 10 seconds
- Who gets it: Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans
- Where: web, Android, iPhone and the new ChatGPT desktop app (macOS and Windows)
- How it unlocks: a 4-digit PIN, or Face ID / Touch ID / phone screen lock
- Biggest warning: resetting your PIN permanently deletes all locked chats
What Are Locked Chats in ChatGPT?
A locked chat is a normal ChatGPT conversation that you protect with a PIN. Once you lock it, it disappears from your chat history, your pinned chats and search results. It moves to a separate Locked chats section.
Unlike a Temporary Chat, a locked chat is saved. You can come back to it any time, as long as you know your PIN.
If you use Memory, locked chats get their own separate memory. New things you say inside a locked chat do not update your regular memory, so they do not show up in your normal chats.
How to Lock a Chat (Step by Step)
- Open the ChatGPT conversation you want to protect
- Tap or click the ••• menu at the top of the chat
- Choose Lock chat and confirm
- Create a 4-digit PIN (the first time) or enter your existing PIN
- Done - the chat moves to Projects > Locked chats
The feature is rolling out gradually, so if you do not see Lock chat yet, update the app and check again in a few days.
How to Open Your Locked Chats
Go to Projects > Locked chats and enter your PIN, or use Face ID / Touch ID on iPhone or your screen unlock on Android.
On the phone apps, a locked chat locks itself again after one minute away from it or one minute in the background. You can also tap Lock now to lock it immediately.
The PIN Mistake That Deletes Your Chats
Read this before you forget your PIN
If you reset your PIN, ChatGPT permanently deletes all your locked chats, the memory stored only in them, and files protected by the old PIN. OpenAI Support cannot recover them.
Changing your PIN is safe and keeps your chats. To change it, go to Settings > Security and login > Account PIN and enter your current PIN first.
Tip: save your PIN in a password manager. Too many wrong PIN attempts temporarily block access.
What Locked Chats Do NOT Do
Locking a chat limits who can open it on your device. It is not a full privacy vault. According to the official details:
- It is not end-to-end encryption
- It does not change how long the chat is kept
- It does not change your "Improve the model for everyone" setting
- It does not remove things ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat
- Share links still work - if you shared the chat before, delete that link separately
For more control, open the ChatGPT Privacy Center in your settings, where chat privacy, memory and data settings are in one place.
Chats You Cannot Lock
You cannot lock these types of chats:
- Temporary chats
- Archived chats
- Group chats
- Chats created from a shared link
- Chats with scheduled tasks
- Chats with meeting recordings
Also note: locking a chat that is inside a Project removes it from that Project.
Make ChatGPT Faster While You Are Here
Now that your private chats are protected, save time on the rest. With ChatGPT shortcuts you can type /brief or /eli5 instead of long prompts, and the perfect prompt formula helps you get better answers the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ChatGPT Locked Chats free?
Yes. Locked Chats is rolling out to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. It is not available on ChatGPT for Healthcare.
Where do I find my locked chats in ChatGPT?
Go to Projects, then Locked chats, and unlock them with your 4-digit PIN, Face ID, Touch ID or your phone's screen lock.
Are locked chats encrypted?
No. Locked chats limit who can open them on your device, but they are not end-to-end encrypted and do not change how long data is kept or your model-training setting.
