OpenAI has started rolling out Locked Chats in ChatGPT. Any conversation can be closed with a four-digit PIN, or Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices. Locked chats move to a separate section and stay out of the main history, pinned chats and chat search.
Unlike temporary chats, which never reach your history, locked ones can be reopened at any time. The scenario the company describes is an everyday one: you discussed something personal or are planning a surprise, and now you hand over your phone to show a different conversation. The feature is coming to every plan from Free to Enterprise and Edu, except the healthcare edition.
What it does not do
- It does not add end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted store
- It does not change how long OpenAI keeps the data on its servers
- It does not erase what ChatGPT already remembered before the lock
- It does not switch off the “Improve the model for everyone” setting
Memory is handled carefully: locked chats share their own memory space, and nothing new from them leaks into regular conversations. One important caveat — resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats and their files. Temporary, archived and group chats, as well as chats with scheduled tasks or meeting recordings, cannot be locked.
In passing
Unreleased subscription settings mention a Pro Max plan at $500 a month, 2.5 times the current Pro. Judging by the description, the main difference is maximum speed for the assistant and Codex.
Our take
A useful small feature, as long as you understand its limits: it protects you from curious people nearby, not from a data leak. If contracts, customer data or credentials go into ChatGPT, a PIN changes nothing — better not to paste such things at all, or use a business plan with training on your data switched off. The story ran on Habr.