You hand your phone to someone to show them a photo. They scroll. Now they're reading the ChatGPT chat where you planned their birthday surprise.
OpenAI just fixed that. On October 20, it started rolling out locked chats in ChatGPT, a simple privacy feature that keeps private conversations away from anyone who borrows your phone or laptop.
How ChatGPT locked chats work
You can lock a regular conversation and it moves into its own "Locked Chats" section, out of your normal chat history, pinned chats and search. To open it, you use your 4-digit account PIN or your device's own lock, like Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices.
To lock a chat, open the chat's more options menu (the three dots) and pick Lock chat.
OpenAI's release notes say it's rolling out gradually to Free, Go, Plus and Pro users on the web, the iOS and Android apps, and the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac and Windows. TechCrunch reported it's coming to Business, Enterprise and Edu plans too. If you don't see it yet, give it a few days.
What locked chats don't do
This part matters, so read it twice.
Locking a chat hides it from people using your device. That's the job. OpenAI says it doesn't add end-to-end encryption, doesn't change how long the chat is kept, and doesn't change your "Improve the model for everyone" setting. It also doesn't erase what ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat.
Two more things. If you reset your PIN, every locked chat and file protected by the old PIN is deleted for good. And you can't lock temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats with scheduled tasks, or chats with meeting recordings.
So think of it as a lock on a bedroom door. It's not a bank vault.
When to use locked chats at work and home
Here's where I'd use it:
Gift ideas and surprise party plans on a shared family tablet
Questions about a health issue you're not ready to talk about yet
Budget or debt planning when the kids use your laptop for homework
Drafting a tough message, like asking for a raise, on a laptop people walk past
One smart detail. If you have Memory turned on, locked chats share their own separate memory. New things you say in a locked chat don't flow into your regular chats. So the surprise doesn't pop up later as a "helpful" suggestion in front of the wrong person.
Try this today
Open ChatGPT and scroll through your recent chats. Anything you'd hate for someone to see over your shoulder? Lock it. Then store your PIN somewhere safe, because resetting it wipes those chats.
It's quick, and it can save you one very awkward conversation.
Privacy is part of working smarter too. Want more simple fixes like this one? Grab my free 10-Minute AI Morning guide.
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