Archive · 24 Aug 2026
ChatGPT May Add Locks for More Private Conversations
ChatGPT may soon let people put special locks on individual conversations.
The locks could use a PIN or a fingerprint scan.
This might stop other people using the same device from seeing private chats.
ChatGPT already has Temporary Chats, which disappear after the chat is closed.
Locked chats would be different because they could remain saved but protected.
The code suggests ChatGPT’s memory would not use a locked chat in other conversations.
People might use the feature for medical questions, private requests, or job applications.
The feature was found in Android app code, but OpenAI has not said when it will launch.
It is also possible that OpenAI will decide not to release it.
Inactive code in the latest ChatGPT Android version references a possible “locked chats” feature.
The feature could protect individual conversations with a PIN or biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint scan.
Locked chats would offer a more permanent privacy option than ChatGPT’s Temporary Chats.
Code suggests locked chats would be available for reference only within those chats, even when memory is enabled.
There is no confirmed launch date, and OpenAI could change or abandon the feature.
- Who
- OpenAI and ChatGPT users are involved.
- What
- Inactive Android code points to a possible feature for locking individual ChatGPT conversations behind a PIN or biometric authentication.
- When
- The feature was identified in the latest version of ChatGPT for Android; no launch date was provided.
- Where
- The references were found in the ChatGPT Android app code.
- Why
- The feature could give users a more permanent way to protect sensitive conversations on their devices.
- Possible feature
- Locked chats, also referenced in code as “Protect chats”
- Authentication
- A PIN code or biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint scan
- Current privacy option
- Temporary Chats disappear from the ChatGPT account after the chat is closed
- Memory behavior
- The code suggests locked chats would be available for reference only within those chats, even when memory is enabled
- Potential uses
- Private queries, medical questions, job applications, and work-related conversations
- Evidence source
- Inactive code found in the latest ChatGPT Android version
- Release status
- No launch timing has been announced, and OpenAI may decide not to release the feature