ChatGPT adds Locked Chats but OpenAI still reads your data
ChatGPT now lets you lock conversations behind a PIN or Face ID, but it lacks end-to-end encryption. OpenAI still has your data.
Tools · Source: TechCrunch
What happened
OpenAI just rolled out Locked Chats for ChatGPT. You can now hide specific conversations behind a four-digit PIN on the web or desktop app. On mobile devices, you can use biometric authentication like Face ID or Touch ID. Once locked, the chat vanishes from your regular history. It disappears from pinned lists and search results. Instead, it moves into a dedicated vault called Locked Chats. You can return to these conversations anytime, unlike the older Temporary Chats feature which leaves no history.
This feature is built entirely for physical privacy. It stops the person looking over your shoulder from reading your screen. It is not built for data security. OpenAI explicitly states this is not end-to-end encryption. Locking a chat does not create an encrypted vault. It does not change how long OpenAI retains your data. It also does not stop them from using your chat to train their models unless you toggle off the training setting separately.
The feature brings a strict penalty for forgetting your password. If you reset your PIN, OpenAI permanently deletes every locked chat and uploaded file tied to it. Customer support cannot recover the data. The rollout is happening now across almost all tiers. Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu users will get it. However, you cannot lock Codex conversations, group chats, or meeting recordings. The feature is also completely disabled for ChatGPT for Healthcare users.
Key facts
- 4-digit — The length of the PIN required to lock chats on web and desktop
- Face ID — Supported biometric authentication method for iPhone users
- Healthcare — The only ChatGPT plan that does not support the new Locked Chats feature
Why it matters
Founders and engineers often paste sensitive code or business strategies into ChatGPT. A PIN lock gives a dangerous false sense of security. You might think your proprietary data is safe because it is hidden behind Face ID on your phone. It is not. The lock only protects you from the person sitting next to you at a coffee shop or a family member borrowing your device. Your data still sits on OpenAI servers in plain text. If you get into legal trouble or face a corporate audit, those chats are fully accessible to OpenAI.
This creates a massive blind spot for enterprise security. Employees will inevitably use Locked Chats to hide shadow IT or unauthorized data sharing from their local peers or managers. Because the data is not encrypted, the company still bears the compliance risk. Furthermore, the isolated memory system creates workflow friction. Locked chats learn independently from your main profile. New facts shared in a locked chat will not leak into your regular chats. You now have to manage two completely separate AI contexts, doubling the work required to keep your AI assistant aligned with your current projects.
For builders
Do not paste proprietary code
The lock does not encrypt your data. OpenAI can still use your locked conversations to train future models if your standard settings allow it. Your intellectual property remains at risk of leaking into the public model.
Beware of permanent data loss
Resetting your PIN wipes the entire locked workspace instantly. If you store critical prompts, architecture plans, or project files exclusively in a locked chat, you will lose them forever if you forget those four numbers.
Manage dual memory states
Locked chats use a separate memory system that does not update your main ChatGPT memory. You must manually duplicate important context and instructions if you want your regular chatbot to remember the details.
My take
Real privacy means knowing exactly where your data lives and who holds the keys. OpenAI just gave us a padlock for the front door while keeping a master key for themselves. Do not confuse a neat user interface trick with actual data security.
Original reporting: TechCrunch. This is my rewrite and opinion.