ChatGPT adds locked chats feature with PIN and Face ID: How to protect private conversations

OpenAI has added Locked Chats to ChatGPT, letting users protect private conversations with a four-digit PIN or biometrics like Face ID and Touch ID. Locked chats sit in a separate section with their own memory, but there is no end-to-end encryption, and resetting the PIN permanently deletes them.

OpenAI has introduced Locked Chats, a ChatGPT feature that protects individual conversations from unwanted access. Announced on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, it lets users secure private chats with a four-digit PIN or, on supported devices, biometric authentication such as Face ID or Touch ID. It is aimed at people who share their phone or computer with others.

The feature will roll out in stages across ChatGPT’s Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.

How ChatGPT's Locked Chats feature works

Once a conversation is locked, it moves to a dedicated Locked Chats section and no longer appears in pinned conversations, chat history or search. Users need their PIN or supported biometric authentication on iOS and Android devices to open it.

Locked chats are not deleted. Unlike Temporary Chats, which don’t appear in chat history at all, they can be revisited but are kept apart from the main interface. OpenAI says the feature suits conversations about personal matters or plans such as a surprise trip, which users may not want others to see on their device.

The feature will be available to users who are discussing personal issues or planning a surprise trip and don't want to reveal those conversations to others when they check out their device, OpenAI claims.

The feature supports a separate memory system for locked conversations when Memory is enabled. While new messages in locked chats can be added to this separate memory, they won't update the regular ChatGPT memory, according to OpenAI.

Pragya Singha Roy