ChatGPT locked chats: how they work, and what a PIN reset deletes

Published October 23, 2026 · 4-minute read

On October 20, 2026 OpenAI started rolling out locked chats to ChatGPT. You pick a conversation, lock it, and it drops out of your regular history, pinned chats and search until you enter a 4-digit PIN. It's rolling out gradually on the web, the iOS and Android apps and the new desktop app for macOS and Windows, on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.

Disclosure: ConvoShelf is our product, a Chrome extension for organizing ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok chats. The section on extensions below explains how it handles locked chats, based on its code.

How to lock a chat

Open the chat's more options menu (•••) and select Lock chat.
The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create a 4-digit account PIN and enter it twice.
To open the chat later, go to Projects > Locked chats and enter the PIN. On supported phones you can use Face ID, Touch ID or your device unlock instead.

The PIN belongs to your OpenAI account, so it works on every device where you're signed in to that account. Device unlock is set up separately on each phone.

What locking doesn't change

OpenAI's help page lists what a lock leaves alone. It doesn't create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault, and it doesn't change how long OpenAI keeps the chat or your Improve the model for everyone setting. It also doesn't remove what ChatGPT already remembered from that chat before you locked it. The help page says the feature is meant to keep a conversation out of view when you share your screen or use a shared device.

Two details trip people up:

Shared links stay live. If the chat already has a shared link, locking it doesn't delete the link. People with the link still see what was shared, though new messages aren't added. Delete the link separately.
Project chats leave the project. Lock a chat that sits in a Project and it moves out, losing that project's instructions, files and memory.

Change the PIN, don't reset it

Resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes every locked chat, the memories stored only in locked chats and the files protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI says Support can't recover any of it. Forgetting the PIN deletes nothing by itself, so take your time before you reset.

If you still know the PIN, change it instead: Settings > Security and login > Account PIN > Change. You need the current PIN even if you normally use Face ID. Changing keeps all your locked chats.

If a locked chat holds something you'd hate to lose, unlock it once and export it, or copy the parts you need somewhere you control.

Locked chats and chat extensions

Browser extensions that organize ChatGPT only see what the page shows them. We read through how ConvoShelf handles this in its code:

ConvoShelf saves the text of each chat you open into your browser's local extension storage, so its full-text search can find it later. Nothing goes to a server, and there's no ConvoShelf account.
Locking a chat in ChatGPT doesn't reach into that storage. If ConvoShelf indexed the chat before you locked it, its saved text and folder stay in ConvoShelf, and a ConvoShelf search on that computer can still find it.
If you unlock a chat and open it while ConvoShelf is running, ConvoShelf saves it the same way it saves any chat you open.

ConvoShelf has no button to forget a single chat. To clear what it saved, make a Backup first if you want one, then click Delete all ConvoShelf data in ConvoShelf settings, which removes every folder, tag, prompt and saved chat text and keeps your Pro license. Uninstalling the extension also removes its local storage. Your chats on chatgpt.com aren't touched either way.

We haven't had locked chats on our test account yet, so we can't show where the Locked chats project sits in the web sidebar. We'll update this page once it reaches us.

FAQ

How do I lock a chat in ChatGPT?

Open the chat's more options menu (the three dots) and select Lock chat. The first time, ChatGPT asks you to create a 4-digit account PIN.

Where do locked chats go?

Under Projects > Locked chats. The sidebar can show the Locked chats project while the titles inside stay hidden. Locked chats don't appear in regular history, pinned chats or regular chat search.

What happens if I forget my ChatGPT PIN?

Forgetting it deletes nothing on its own. Resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes every locked chat, the memories stored only in them and the files protected only by the old PIN, and OpenAI Support can't recover them. If you still know the PIN, change it under Settings > Security and login > Account PIN instead, which keeps your locked chats.

Is a locked chat encrypted?

OpenAI says locking does not create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault, and it doesn't change how long OpenAI keeps the chat or your Improve the model setting.

Does ConvoShelf see my locked chats?

ConvoShelf only reads chat pages you open in Chrome, and it saves the text of each chat you open in your browser's local storage so search can find it. Locking a chat in ChatGPT doesn't remove a copy ConvoShelf already saved. To clear it, use Delete all ConvoShelf data in ConvoShelf settings after making a Backup.

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