ChatGPT now lets you lock chats. Here’s how to use it.

By Thrive · Thrive Total Solutions · 31 October 2026 · 3 min read

Your ChatGPT history can become a mixture of a work notebook, a personal journal and a list of questions you asked at midnight. Useful to you. Not necessarily something you want on display when someone glances at your screen.

I’m already using a feature that gives selected conversations their own locked area: locked chats.

OpenAI announced it on 20 October 2026. It is rolling out gradually, including to Free, Go, Plus and Pro users across web, mobile and the new desktop app. If it hasn’t appeared in your account yet, you may still be waiting for access. [1]

What changes when you lock a chat?

The conversation stays saved, but leaves your normal history, pinned chats and regular search results. Access requires a four-digit account PIN or supported device authentication. [1]

You find it under Projects → Locked chats. Opening it there doesn’t put it back in your everyday history. Archiving is different: archived conversations can still appear in normal search. [3]

Why this is useful in everyday life

Imagine practising answers for a job interview before you’ve told anyone you’re applying. Or working through an idea for a business you’re not ready to announce. You might want to return to those conversations without having their titles sitting beside your shopping list.

There’s also the very ordinary moment when you show someone something on your phone. You intended to share one useful answer, not invite a guided tour of everything else you’ve been thinking about.

For me, that is the appeal: a little more control over what is on view. As AI becomes part of the everyday routine, small, practical features like this deserve attention too.

How to get started

1. Open the chat’s three-dot menu and choose Lock chat. [1]
2. Confirm, then create or enter your account PIN.
3. On supported iPhones, enable Use Face ID under Settings → Security and login → Account PIN.
4. Reopen the conversation from Projects → Locked chats.
5. Choose Lock now when finished. Refresh other open devices before sharing your screen, as previously loaded content can remain visible. [2]

Try the process with an ordinary test conversation first. Get comfortable finding it again and closing access before using the feature for a conversation you particularly want to keep out of view.

Two details to understand first

Keep track of your PIN. Resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes locked chats and content protected only by that PIN. Changing it using your current PIN preserves them. [2]

The lock controls access. It doesn’t add end-to-end encryption, change retention or model-training settings, or erase previously saved memories. Existing shared links also need removing separately. [2]

You don’t need to become a technical expert to benefit from AI. Understanding one useful feature, trying it and knowing what it does is a perfectly good place to start.