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Lock a ChatGPT conversation when you want it out of ordinary history and search and behind an access check; archive it when you simply want it out of the sidebar while keeping it searchable. Both actions keep the chat saved. Neither deletes it, changes its retention period, or changes whether the existing model-improvement setting applies.
What is the difference between a locked chat and an archived chat?
A locked chat is hidden from regular chat history and regular conversation search, and opening it requires your account PIN or supported device authentication. An archived chat is removed from the regular sidebar but remains searchable and saved.
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| What you want to know | Locked chat | Archived chat |
|---|---|---|
| Where does it go? | It is removed from regular chat history. Find it under Projects > Locked chats. | It is removed from the regular sidebar and managed through Settings > Data controls > Archived chats. The label can vary by device. |
| Can regular conversation search find it? | No. Open Locked chats after authentication. On iOS, an in-chat Find option may be available. | Yes. Archived conversations can appear in regular conversation search. |
| Is opening it access-gated? | Yes. A four-digit account PIN or supported device authentication is required. | No separate PIN gate is described for archived chats. |
| Is it still saved? | Yes. Locking does not change chat retention. | Yes. The chat remains saved under the same retention rules as other saved conversations. |
| Does the action change model-improvement settings? | No. Your existing setting and applicable workspace policies continue to apply. | No. Archiving does not change whether a chat may be used for model improvement. |
| Can you reverse it? | Yes. Permanently unlock it to return it to regular history. | Yes. Unarchive it to return it to regular history. |
These are visibility and access-management options, not two kinds of deletion. OpenAI’s guides describe their behavior in Using locked chats in ChatGPT and Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT.
When should I lock a chat instead of archiving it?
Choose archive to tidy your sidebar while retaining ordinary search access. Choose lock when you want a saved conversation to be less visible in the normal interface and require an extra access check before someone opens it.
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- Archive: Best for old or completed conversations you may want to find again through normal search.
- Lock: Better when you want a conversation out of regular history, search, recents, notifications, and previews, such as when sharing a screen or device.
- Delete: Use only if you intend to remove the saved conversation rather than keep it tucked away.
For example, archive a travel-planning thread you might need next month. Lock a conversation containing personal planning when another person occasionally uses your computer. Delete a duplicate or an accidental chat only when you no longer need its contents and accept that it cannot be restored.
Locking is a visibility and access control, not a promise that no one else can access the conversation under any circumstances. In Enterprise and Edu workspaces, locked chats remain included in message logs available through the OpenAI Compliance Platform. Workspace administrators cannot unlock a user’s chats or reset that user’s account PIN, but locking does not remove organizational compliance access.
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Open Settings, go to Data controls, and choose Archived chats. You can also search for an archived conversation using regular chat search; archiving does not remove it from search results.
- Open ChatGPT settings.
- Select Data controls.
- Open Archived chats or the equivalent label shown on your device.
- Choose the conversation you want to manage.
- To put it back in regular history, choose the option to unarchive it.
The precise label can vary across devices and app versions. If search finds the conversation first, opening it from the result does not automatically unarchive it; use the archive-management control when you want it back in the sidebar. The chat-finding guide covers how saved, archived, and locked conversations are discovered. Unarchiving restores a chat to regular history; it does not delete it.
How do I find and open a locked chat?
Go to Projects > Locked chats and authenticate when prompted. Locked conversations do not appear in regular conversation search, so use the Locked chats area rather than searching the usual history.
- Open Projects and select Locked chats.
- Enter your account PIN or use supported device authentication.
- Select the conversation you want to open.
- When you are done, use Lock now if you want to end the temporarily authenticated access.
Authentication grants access for the current use session; it is not a permanent change to the chat’s status. Lock now closes that access without deleting or altering the conversation. Device and platform behavior can differ, and the available controls depend on the current app. On iOS, an in-chat Find option may be available after opening a locked chat. That lets you look within the opened conversation; it does not make the conversation searchable from regular chat search.
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If the feature is available for your account and the conversation is eligible, open the conversation’s action menu and choose Lock chat. Follow the prompt to create or confirm a four-digit account PIN, or select supported device authentication where offered. After the operation completes, the title and messages leave ordinary history and the conversation becomes available from Locked chats.
To return it to ordinary history, open it from Locked chats, authenticate, and choose the permanent unlock action. Unlocking is different from the temporary Lock now control: permanent unlock removes the lock, while Lock now merely ends the current authenticated viewing session.
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A locked chat cannot be archived, pinned, moved, or shared until it is permanently unlocked. If you need to perform one of those actions, unlock it first, complete the action, and lock it again if appropriate. Locking also does not cancel a scheduled task, remove a meeting recording, or change a project’s other settings; many such conversations are ineligible in the first place.
Which accounts and conversations support locking?
Locked chats are rolling out gradually, so an eligible account may not yet show the option. OpenAI lists Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu, but plan eligibility does not guarantee immediate availability or that every conversation can be locked.
The desktop feature is described for the new ChatGPT macOS or Windows app and supported cloud conversations in Chat or Work mode. Codex conversations and local Work conversations cannot be locked; Healthcare is excluded. Project eligibility varies by platform, so the same account can show different controls in different projects or apps.
Examples of conversations that cannot be locked include temporary chats, archived chats, group chats, chats created from a shared link, and conversations with scheduled tasks, meeting recordings, or background tasks. The official locked-chat guide lists further exclusions and is the best reference if the Lock chat option is missing.
Why can’t I see the Lock chat option?
First check that the app is current and that you are using a supported ChatGPT app rather than a local or excluded workspace mode. Then check the conversation itself. A temporary chat, group conversation, shared-link conversation, archived chat, or chat tied to a scheduled task, meeting recording, or background task will not qualify. A chat may also be in a project whose platform does not yet support locking.
Gradual rollout is another explanation: OpenAI lists the plans that can receive the feature, but availability can still arrive at different times. If the option is missing from every eligible cloud conversation, sign out and back in, verify the account and workspace you are using, and consult the current locked-chat guide. Do not assume that deleting or exporting the conversation will make it eligible; those actions are unrelated.
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Are locked chats encrypted or private from OpenAI?
Do not treat locking as end-to-end encryption or as a separate encrypted vault. OpenAI says the feature changes how a chat is accessed and displayed, but it does not change retention, erase information the system remembered before the chat was locked, or override workspace policies, safety requirements, or legal and compliance obligations.
The existing Improve the model for everyone setting continues to apply to locked chats. If you need to change that setting, do so separately in Data controls; locking a conversation does not opt it out. The Data controls guide explains the setting and its effect on saved chats. Workspace administrators and compliance systems may retain or access records according to the workspace’s rules even though the chat is hidden from your ordinary interface.
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Locking is therefore useful against casual discovery, such as a colleague glancing at your sidebar or a family member browsing your recent conversations. It is not a substitute for a device passcode, account security, workspace policy, or a separate decision about whether information should be entered into ChatGPT at all.
What happens to memory, files, and shared links?
Locking does not erase information that the system remembered before the conversation was locked. If a detail has been saved through ChatGPT’s memory features, manage that memory separately rather than assuming the lock removes it. The lock also does not create a second file store or change the retention status of attachments.
There is an important distinction for conversations previously shared with a link: locking the chat does not delete the link or revoke access to content already shared that way. Delete the shared link separately if you want to stop that access. A chat created from a shared link is not eligible to be locked. Review and remove old shared links independently when confidentiality matters.
Files can have separate storage behavior. Deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a file saved separately in Library. If your goal is to remove a file too, check Library rather than assuming that deleting its conversation also removes it. Locking or archiving likewise should not be treated as a file-deletion command.
Does locking or archiving delete a chat?
No. Locking and archiving leave the conversation saved. A chat remains saved until you delete it or it is removed under an applicable workspace retention policy.
Deletion is different: it removes the chat from your account view immediately, and OpenAI says permanent deletion from its systems is scheduled within 30 days. Exceptions apply if the chat was already de-identified and disassociated from your account, or if OpenAI must retain it longer for security or legal obligations. Deleted chats cannot be restored through ChatGPT or Support. See OpenAI’s chat and file retention guide for the policy details.
Archiving is not a retention shortcut. It does not start the 30-day deletion schedule, and it does not protect a conversation from a workspace retention rule. Locking is not a retention shortcut either. Both actions preserve the chat under the same applicable retention rules as other saved conversations.
What happens if I forget my locked-chat PIN?
Resetting a forgotten account PIN has a serious consequence: it permanently deletes locked chats, information remembered only within those chats, and files or other content protected only by the previous PIN. OpenAI says this deletion cannot be undone and Support cannot recover the deleted content.
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This is different from changing a PIN you still know: changing a known PIN does not delete locked chats. Before resetting a forgotten PIN, consider whether any locked conversation contains information or files you need to preserve. If you can still authenticate with the existing PIN or supported device method, use the normal change-PIN flow instead of the forgotten-PIN reset.
Keep the distinction clear: a PIN change is a credential update; a forgotten-PIN reset is a destructive recovery operation. Neither action changes archived chats, which do not use the locked-chat PIN gate.
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Business, Enterprise, and Edu users should consider both personal visibility and organizational governance. A lock hides the conversation from the user’s ordinary history and requires authentication to open, but it does not override workspace policies, safety requirements, legal holds, or compliance processes.
For Enterprise and Edu, locked chats remain included in conversation message logs available through the OpenAI Compliance Platform. Workspace administrators cannot unlock a user’s chats or reset that user’s account PIN. That limitation affects the user interface, not the organization’s ability to handle records through its approved compliance systems. Follow your organization’s retention and information-handling rules before locking a work conversation.
Lock versus archive: practical scenarios
| Situation | Better choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Your sidebar is crowded with finished projects. | Archive | You can still find the chats with normal search and unarchive them later. |
| You are sharing your screen and do not want a sensitive title or preview visible. | Lock | The chat leaves regular history, recents, notifications, and previews and requires authentication to open. |
| You need to search message text frequently. | Archive | Archived chats remain available to regular conversation search; locked chats do not. |
| You want a conversation gone and accept that recovery is impossible. | Delete | Deletion removes it from account view and starts the applicable deletion process. |
| The chat has an existing public or shared link. | Manage the link separately | Locking does not revoke an already-shared link, and a shared-link conversation may be ineligible for locking. |
| You forgot the lock PIN but need the messages. | Do not reset until prepared | A forgotten-PIN reset permanently deletes locked content and cannot be reversed. |
Which option should I use?
Use the action that matches what you mean by “out of sight.” Archive is for sidebar cleanup with ordinary search still available; lock adds an access check and removes the chat from regular history and search; delete is for removing the saved chat, subject to the stated retention and recovery limits.
| Your goal | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce sidebar clutter but find the chat in ordinary search later | Archive | It hides the chat from the regular sidebar without removing it from search. |
| Keep a saved chat out of ordinary history and behind an access gate | Lock | It removes the chat from regular history and regular search and requires authentication to open. |
| Remove a saved conversation rather than retain it | Delete | Deletion is separate from both visibility controls and has distinct retention and recovery consequences. |
Before locking, account for any shared link, workspace obligations, or PIN-reset risk that matters to you. Before deleting, check whether attachments remain in Library and whether you may need the conversation later. Neither lock nor archive changes the chat’s retention or the model-improvement setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I lock a chat created from a shared link?
No. OpenAI lists conversations created from shared links among the chats that cannot be locked. For an already-shared conversation, locking also does not revoke an existing link; manage that link separately.
Does changing my account PIN erase locked chats?
Changing a PIN you still know does not delete locked chats. The destructive case is resetting a forgotten PIN, which permanently deletes content protected only by the previous PIN.
Can I lock a chat on the ChatGPT website?
Availability depends on the app and conversation type, and the feature is rolling out gradually. OpenAI’s current guide specifies the new macOS or Windows app for desktop and supported cloud conversations in Chat or Work mode; check that guide for current platform and eligibility details.
Can I search for a locked chat by title or keyword?
Not with regular conversation search. Open Projects, choose Locked chats, authenticate, and browse the available conversations. On iOS, an in-chat Find option may be available after you open one.
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No. Archiving removes the conversation from the regular sidebar but archived chats can still appear in regular conversation search. Use Locked chats when removing the conversation from ordinary search is important.
Can I archive a locked chat without unlocking it?
No. A locked chat cannot be archived, pinned, moved, or shared until you permanently unlock it. After unlocking, you can archive it or perform another available action.
Does locking stop ChatGPT from using the conversation for model improvement?
No. The existing Improve the model for everyone setting and applicable workspace policies continue to apply. Change the setting separately in Data controls if needed.
Does locking revoke a shared link?
No. Locking does not delete an existing shared link or revoke access to content that was already shared. Delete the shared link separately. Conversations created from shared links cannot be locked.
What happens to a locked chat if I delete it?
Deletion is separate from locking. Deleting removes the chat from your account view and OpenAI schedules permanent system deletion within 30 days, subject to de-identification and security or legal exceptions. Deleted chats cannot be restored through ChatGPT or Support.
Are files deleted when I delete a chat?
Not necessarily. A file saved separately in Library can have separate storage behavior. Check Library if you also need to remove an attachment.
Can my Enterprise or Edu administrator unlock my chat?
OpenAI says workspace administrators cannot unlock a user’s chats or reset the user’s account PIN. However, locked chats remain in conversation message logs available through the OpenAI Compliance Platform, so locking does not remove organizational compliance access.
What should I do if I forget my PIN?
A forgotten-PIN reset permanently deletes locked chats, information remembered only within them, and files or other content protected only by the old PIN. This cannot be undone and Support cannot recover it. If you still know the PIN, change it through the normal PIN-change flow instead.
The Bottom Line
Archive for organization; lock for reduced visibility plus an access check; delete only when you intend to remove the conversation. Locked and archived chats remain saved under the same retention and model-improvement rules, and neither feature revokes previously shared links or guarantees encryption.
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