How to lock a private chat in ChatGPT with a PIN

Hide a sensitive chat from your history behind a 4-digit PIN, and open it again only when you need it.

⏱ About 5 minutes · 7 steps · ▶ 1:10 video
What you'll need
  • The ChatGPT app on your phone, the ChatGPT app for Mac or Windows, or chatgpt.com, signed in to your account
  • A 4-digit PIN you'll remember (write it down somewhere safe)

  1. Check you have locked chats

    📅 Checked as of October 2026. OpenAI says locked chats are rolling out gradually, so not everyone has them yet.

    Locked chats work on the free and paid plans of ChatGPT (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu), in the iPhone app, the Android app, on chatgpt.com and in the new ChatGPT app for Mac or Windows. Update the app first. If you don't see Lock chat in a chat's menu, it hasn't reached your account yet.

  2. Open the chat's ••• menu and tap Lock chat

    Open the conversation you want to keep private. Tap or click the ••• (more options) menu for that chat, choose Lock chat, then choose Lock chat again to confirm.

    💡 Some chats can't be locked.

    The option is missing for temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from a shared link and chats with scheduled tasks, among others.

  3. Create your 4-digit PIN

    The first time, ChatGPT asks you to Create a PIN. Enter 4 digits, then enter them again to confirm. The same PIN works on all your devices signed in to the same account.

    ⚠️ Don't lose this PIN. If you forget it, the only fix is a reset, and resetting the PIN permanently deletes all your locked chats. OpenAI Support can't get them back.

  4. Find it under Projects > Locked chats

    The chat disappears from your regular history and search. To get back to it, open the sidebar, then choose Projects > Locked chats and enter your PIN. Then tap the chat to open it. You can also start a brand-new locked chat from there.

  5. Optional: use Face ID or your phone's unlock

    iPhone: go to Settings > Security and login > Account PIN and turn on Use Face ID (or Touch ID). Android: choose Use device unlock when ChatGPT offers it. This only applies to the device where you turn it on, and your PIN still works.

  6. Tap Lock now when you're done

    Choose Lock now to hide your locked chats again straight away. On a phone, they also lock again by themselves after 1 minute away or in the background. On the web, refreshing or closing the tab ends access, and a new tab asks for the PIN again.

  7. Change your PIN or unlock a chat for good

    To change the PIN (keeps your chats): Settings > Security and login > Account PIN, then Change PIN (or Change on the web). You'll need your current PIN.

    To put a chat back in your normal history: open it, tap •••, choose Unlock chat (just Unlock on iPhone) and confirm.

🎉 All done!
⚠️ Locked doesn’t mean extra-secret. OpenAI says locking a chat hides it. It doesn’t add end-to-end encryption, doesn’t change how long OpenAI keeps the chat, doesn’t change your Improve the model for everyone setting, and doesn’t erase anything ChatGPT already remembered. Anyone who opens it can still copy it. A shared link you made earlier keeps working until you delete it.

Locked chat or Temporary Chat?

  • Temporary Chat: for a one-off question you don’t want saved. It stays out of your history, doesn’t create memories and isn’t used for training (OpenAI may keep it up to 30 days for safety).
  • Locked chat: for a chat you want to keep, but out of sight, say on a shared tablet or when you share your screen. It follows your normal training setting.

Troubleshooting

  • No “Lock chat” option? Update the app. It may not have reached your account yet, or that chat type can’t be locked (see step 2).
  • Locked out after wrong guesses? ChatGPT pauses access after too many wrong PINs. Wait for the timer instead of resetting.
  • Title still showing on another device? Other open devices can keep showing it until their chat list refreshes. Check them before you share your screen.
  • Blank screenshot on Android? That’s on purpose: the app hides locked chats from screenshots.

Next, check the rest of your settings in How to stop ChatGPT using your chats for training, and read Is AI safe? What happens to what you type. New words: PIN, end-to-end encryption.

Related game: Safe or Risky?. Related explainer: Is AI safe? What happens to what you type .

Official help pages

Steps checked against these pages in October 2026. If a button looks different, look for a similar label.