How to Lock Chats in ChatGPT (and What Locking Doesn't Do)

OpenAI added locked chats on 20 October 2026, and it's one of those small features that solves a very real problem. You're about to share your screen on a client call, or hand your laptop to someone, and your sidebar is full of chat titles you'd rather nobody read. Now you can tuck those conversations away behind a PIN without deleting them.

Here's how it works, step by step, using OpenAI's own help page, plus the catch you need to know before you set your PIN. That catch is the bit most people will learn the hard way.

What locked chats do

A locked chat stays in your account, but it's hidden from your regular chat history, your pinned chats and the normal conversation search. You find all of them in one place: Projects > Locked chats. To open that area you need your 4-digit account PIN, or Face ID, Touch ID or your device unlock method on a supported phone.

OpenAI is clear about what locking doesn't do, and it's worth reading slowly:

• It doesn't create end-to-end encryption or a separate encrypted vault.
• It doesn't change how long OpenAI keeps the chat.
• It doesn't change your Improve the model for everyone setting.
• It doesn't remove anything ChatGPT remembered before you locked the chat.
• It doesn't override workspace policies or legal and compliance obligations.

So think of it as a privacy screen, not a safe. It stops a person glancing at your screen. It isn't a way to hide a conversation from OpenAI or from your employer's workspace.

How to lock a chat in ChatGPT

If it's your first time, start with an existing conversation. OpenAI's steps are:

1. Open the more options menu (the three dots) for the chat.
2. Select Lock chat.
3. Select Lock chat again to confirm.
4. Create a PIN if you haven't got one yet, or enter your existing PIN.

The chat then moves into Locked chats, and its title and content come out of your regular history and search. Search results can take a little while to update, so don't panic if a title lingers for a moment.

One thing that caught me out when reading the help page: other devices where ChatGPT is already open may keep showing the chat title until their list refreshes. On iPhone, content you'd already loaded can stay visible until the app refreshes too. If you're about to share your screen, check your other open devices first.

How to start a new locked chat

Once you've locked one conversation, you can start fresh ones straight inside the locked area:

1. Select Projects.
2. Select Locked chats.
3. Enter your PIN or use device authentication.
4. Type your message to start the conversation.

That conversation is saved in Locked chats from the first message and never shows up in your regular history.

Who can use locked chats

Where	What OpenAI says
Plans	Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu (rolling out gradually)
Not available	ChatGPT for Healthcare
Desktop	The new ChatGPT app for macOS or Windows
Can't be locked	Codex conversations and local Work conversations
Voice	Works in locked chats on the web, iOS and Android, but not in the desktop app

If you can't see Lock chat in the three-dot menu, the feature probably hasn't reached your account yet. It's rolling out in stages.

The PIN reset catch nobody expects

This is the line to remember. Resetting your account PIN permanently deletes all your locked chats, plus anything remembered only inside them and any files protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI says it can't be undone and its support team can't recover the content.

Forgetting your PIN doesn't delete anything on its own. The deletion happens when you choose Reset. So if you forget it, stop and think before you tap through. Changing your PIN is different: if you know the current PIN, you can change it in Settings > Security and login > Account PIN without losing a thing.

A workspace administrator can't reset your PIN or open your locked chats for you either, so there's no back door through your company's admin. Pick a PIN you'll remember, and don't make it your bank card PIN.

How long a locked chat stays open

Opening a locked chat gives you temporary access, and it doesn't last. On the web and desktop, access applies only to the tab or window where you entered your PIN, and it relocks after you've been away from that tab. Refreshing the page or closing the tab ends access too.

On iPhone and Android, access ends after 1 minute away from the locked area or 1 minute in the background. There's also a Lock now button to close everything immediately, which is the habit I'd build before any screen share.

Things you can't do with a locked chat

• You can't archive, pin, move or share it. Permanently unlock it first.
• You can't search across all locked chats at once. You browse them in the Locked chats area.
• A chat that was created from someone else's shared link can't be locked.
• If you lock a chat that sits in a project, it leaves that project and stops using the project's instructions, files and memory.

And one practical warning from OpenAI's page: anyone who can open a locked chat can still copy its contents. The lock is only as good as your PIN.

Locked chats, temporary chats and deleting: which to use

These three features get mixed up, so here's the plain version. A temporary chat is for a conversation you don't want saved in your history at all. A locked chat is for one you want to keep, just out of sight. Deleting is for one you're done with, and my guide on deleting your ChatGPT history covers that in full.

Memory works a little differently inside locked chats. They can use your regular memory, and things you say in a locked chat can be remembered for other locked chats, but what's remembered only in locked chats doesn't flow back into your regular chats. If memory confuses you, my ChatGPT memory guide walks through the settings.

What works alongside it

Locked chats lean on features you probably already use: Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone, your Android device unlock method, the new ChatGPT desktop app for Mac and Windows, and Space, where files protected by a locked chat stay hidden until you permanently unlock it.

My advice for business owners is simple. Lock the chats that hold client names, staff issues or anything financial before your next screen share, and keep a note of your PIN somewhere safe. If you want help setting ChatGPT up so your team uses it safely, that's the kind of thing I do in my one-to-one AI sessions.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find locked chats in ChatGPT?

Go to Projects, then Locked chats, and enter your 4-digit account PIN or use Face ID, Touch ID or device unlock on a supported phone.

Does locking a ChatGPT chat encrypt it?

No. OpenAI says locking doesn't create end-to-end encryption or a separate vault, and it doesn't change how long the chat is kept.

What happens if I forget my ChatGPT PIN?

Forgetting it deletes nothing, but resetting it permanently deletes every locked chat and the files protected only by the old PIN. OpenAI can't recover them.

Can my employer see my locked chats?

Locking doesn't override workspace access. In Enterprise and Edu workspaces, locked chats still appear in the Compliance Platform message logs.

Why can't I see the Lock chat option?

Locked chats are rolling out gradually, so the option may not have reached your account yet. It also isn't available on ChatGPT for Healthcare.