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ChatGPT adds Locked Chats protected by PIN, Face ID or Touch ID
OpenAI began rolling out Locked Chats in ChatGPT on October 20, letting users secure conversations with a four-digit PIN or Face ID or Touch ID. The feature is available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. OpenAI said locking does not add end-to-end encryption or change data retention.
Key points
- ChatGPT chats can now be locked with a four-digit PIN, Face ID or Touch ID.
- Locked Chats is available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.
- OpenAI says locking adds no end-to-end encryption and does not change retention.
What happened: OpenAI announced on October 20 that ChatGPT users can now lock conversations, TechCrunch reported. Locked chats can be secured with a four-digit PIN or with Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices. The feature began rolling out that day, so it may not yet be available to every user.
The details: Locked chats move to a separate Locked Chats section, apart from regular history, pinned chats and search results. Unlike Temporary Chats, which do not appear in history, locked chats can be reopened at any time. When Memory is turned on, Locked Chats has its own memory shared only across chats in that section, so information from locked chats should not appear in regular chats. Resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats, files and other content protected by the old PIN. Locking is not available for temporary, archived or group chats, chats opened from a shared link, or chats with scheduled tasks or meeting recordings.
Who it affects: Locked Chats is available on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, but not on ChatGPT for Healthcare.
What to watch: OpenAI said locking does not provide end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault. It does not change chat retention, does not remove information ChatGPT remembered before a chat was locked, and does not change the model training setting. TechCrunch noted that the feature limits access but does not address how sensitive information is stored or handled.
Our take
Locked Chats limits who can see a conversation on a shared screen, but it does not change how OpenAI stores data, so company data policies still apply.