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How ChatGPT Uses Your Data—and What You Can Control

Chat history, model improvement, Memory, and deletion are separate in ChatGPT. Here’s what each control does and how to use it.
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Chat history, model improvement, Memory, and data retention are separate controls in ChatGPT. To keep chats in your history but stop new conversations from being used to improve OpenAI models, turn off Improve the model for everyone in Settings → Data controls. To remove a saved chat, delete it separately; to avoid adding a conversation to history, start a Temporary Chat.

What ChatGPT’s data controls actually change

There is no single switch that handles every kind of data use. The right setting depends on whether you want to stop model improvement, prevent a chat from appearing in history, change personalization, or remove saved material.

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Goal Control What it changes
Keep chat history but opt out of model improvement Improve the model for everyone in Settings → Data controls New conversations are not used to improve OpenAI models; saved chats are not removed from history.
Keep a conversation out of history and Memory Start a Temporary Chat It does not appear in history, create or update Memory, or improve models while temporary. OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety.
Remove a saved chat Delete the chat It disappears from the account view immediately and is scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days, subject to exceptions.
Change personalization Settings → Personalization Manage Memory separately from model-improvement and retention controls.

OpenAI’s Data controls in ChatGPT guidance describes these as distinct settings. Turning off model improvement does not delete chats, and turning off Memory is not the same as opting out of model improvement.

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How to stop new chats being used for model improvement

  1. In ChatGPT, open Settings.
  2. Choose Data controls.
  3. Switch off Improve the model for everyone and confirm if prompted.

OpenAI says that, for eligible personal accounts, this setting applies across devices when you are signed in. The control may be unavailable or governed by account or workspace settings. It affects new conversations; it does not erase existing chats or take them out of your history. OpenAI’s wording is: “When Improve the model for everyone is off, your new conversations won’t be used to train OpenAI models.” See How your data is used to improve model performance.

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OpenAI also says it takes steps to reduce personal information in training datasets before using eligible user content for model improvement. That describes a process, not a guarantee that personal information can never appear in or be inferred from a model.

When Temporary Chat is the better choice

Start a Temporary Chat when you do not want that conversation added to chat history or used to create or update Memory. OpenAI says Temporary Chats are not used to improve models while they remain temporary. This is not immediate erasure: OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes, according to its consumer-services data guidance.

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Check personalization before starting one. Depending on your account or workspace settings, a personalized Temporary Chat may use existing Memory, custom instructions, and plugins. Saving a Temporary Chat makes it a regular chat.

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How to delete chats, Memory, or your account

Delete a saved chat

Delete the chat itself if you want it removed from your account view. OpenAI says deletion removes it from that view immediately and schedules permanent deletion from its systems within 30 days, unless the content has already been de-identified and disassociated or longer retention is required for security or legal obligations. Turning off model improvement or archiving a chat is not deletion. Details are in Chat and file retention in ChatGPT.

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Remove saved Memory separately

Deleting a chat does not automatically delete a saved Memory. Review and remove saved Memory under Settings → Personalization if you want to remove that personalization data. Memory controls how ChatGPT personalizes responses; they do not replace the model-improvement setting. OpenAI also notes that turning off Memory or personalization does not disable every safety feature: limited safety-relevant context may be used in rare, high-risk situations. See the Privacy Center in ChatGPT.

Delete your account

Eligible personal-account users can request account deletion in settings. It is permanent and affects associated data and subscriptions. Members of managed workspaces may need to contact their organization instead.

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How to export your ChatGPT data

Eligible signed-in Free, Go, Plus, and Pro users can request an export through ChatGPT settings or the Privacy Portal. Self-service exports are not available in some managed workspaces; ask the workspace owner about access to your data. See OpenAI’s data-control instructions for the current route.

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What changes for work and school accounts

OpenAI says content from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, and ChatGPT for Healthcare workspaces is not used for model training by default. An organization may set its own rules for retention, access, Memory, and other controls. If you use a managed account, check with the administrator: individual members may not be able to override workspace policy.

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One important exception: conversation feedback

If you submit thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback after opting out of model improvement, OpenAI says the entire conversation associated with that feedback may be used to improve models. Avoid submitting feedback on a conversation you do not want considered for that purpose.

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