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How to change ChatGPT’s personalization, memory, and data controls

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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ChatGPT has separate controls for Custom Instructions, Memory, model improvement, and temporary conversations. To change how replies are personalized, open Settings > Personalization. To stop eligible new conversations from being used to improve OpenAI models, open Settings > Data controls and turn off Improve the model for everyone. For a one-off conversation that should not appear in history, start a Temporary Chat and choose whether it may use existing personalization.

These settings do different jobs. Turning off Memory does not delete saved memories or old chats, and turning off model improvement does not remove conversations from your history. The labels and available switches can differ by plan, region, platform, and workspace, so use the options shown in your own account.

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What each ChatGPT control changes

Before changing anything, decide which outcome you need. Personalization controls influence the answers you receive; data controls govern whether eligible content can be used to improve models; Temporary Chat changes what happens to one conversation.

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Control Primary purpose Where to find it What it does not do
Custom Instructions Tell ChatGPT your preferred background, tone, format, or other standing instructions. Web and desktop: Settings > Personalization > Custom Instructions. iOS and Android: Settings > Customize ChatGPT. It does not erase earlier conversations or automatically delete memories.
Memory Let ChatGPT save and reference information between conversations. Settings > Personalization > Memory. Switching Memory off does not delete existing chats or every saved memory.
Improve the model for everyone Choose whether new eligible conversations from a personal account may be used to improve OpenAI models. Settings > Data controls. Turning it off does not remove chats from history.
Temporary Chat Start an individual conversation that is absent from history and does not create memories while temporary. Choose Temporary when starting a new chat. It is not an instant deletion mechanism; a safety copy may be retained for up to 30 days.

Custom Instructions and Memory are both personalization features, but they are not interchangeable. Instructions are text you supply as standing guidance; Memory concerns information ChatGPT may retain and reference from interactions. Model-improvement settings concern use of eligible content for training, not the way a reply is personalized.

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For the official navigation and account-specific explanations, see OpenAI’s data-controls guide, Memory in ChatGPT, and Custom Instructions.

Change or disable Custom Instructions

Custom Instructions are useful when you want consistent preferences, such as concise answers, a particular programming language, or an explanation aimed at a certain level of expertise. Changes apply immediately to future conversations across the account, but they do not rewrite messages that were already generated.

On the web or desktop app

  1. Open ChatGPT and select your account menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Open Personalization, then Custom Instructions.
  4. Edit the instruction fields, or switch Enable customization off.
  5. Close the settings panel; the change is saved according to the controls shown in your account.

On iPhone or Android

  1. Open the ChatGPT app and open Settings.
  2. Select Customize ChatGPT. Some app versions may present the option under a slightly different Personalization label.
  3. Edit the instructions or turn customization off.

You can disable the feature without deleting the text, or remove the text if you no longer want it stored as an instruction. Disabling it prevents the instructions from guiding future chats. It does not remove their effect from a conversation that has already been generated; to eliminate that context from your records, delete the earlier conversation itself.

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If a preference seems to persist after you change it, start a new conversation and check the Custom Instructions screen again. A current chat can contain earlier messages that still influence its context, even though the account setting has changed. The platform-specific paths and future-chat behavior are documented in the Custom Instructions help article.

Review, correct, or delete Memory

Memory can make responses more relevant by allowing ChatGPT to retain details between chats. The exact controls are being presented differently across accounts and rollouts. You may see switches named Memory, Reference saved memories, or Reference chat history, along with a Memory summary, Manage, or Saved memories.

Open the memory controls

  1. Open your account menu and choose Settings.
  2. Select Personalization.
  3. Open Memory.
  4. Review the switches and the saved-information list that your account displays.

Use the available list to correct an inaccurate item or delete a saved item. If your account offers a Memory summary, read it for information you no longer want referenced. Where available, Manage or Saved memories provides the direct deletion controls.

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What “don’t mention this again” means

Some accounts offer a command such as “Don’t mention this again.” That instruction changes future personalization, but it is not the same as erasing the original source. If the information is saved and you need it removed, delete the saved memory through the Memory controls.

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Turn Memory off

Switching Memory off stops the feature from operating as enabled in your account, but it does not delete past conversations. It also does not necessarily remove a memory that was saved separately from the conversation in which it first appeared. Deleting only the chat may therefore leave the separate saved memory intact.

Remove a remembered detail completely

For a thorough removal, delete both the saved memory and the source that supplied it when that source is still present:

  • Delete the corresponding item in Settings > Personalization > Memory, if it is listed.
  • Delete the chat in which the information was provided.
  • If the detail came from an uploaded file or a connected app, remove the relevant file or disconnect and delete the source according to that service’s controls.

The source and the memory are separate records for this purpose. The official Memory guidance explains the available deletion and source-handling options.

Safety and security exceptions

Disabling Memory or personalization does not mean that no context can ever be processed. Limited use of context for safety and security can still occur in rare, high-risk situations, as described in OpenAI’s consumer-data explanation.

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Turn off “Improve the model for everyone”

This setting addresses model improvement rather than personalization. When it is off, OpenAI’s stated behavior is: “When Improve the model for everyone is off, your new conversations won’t be used to train OpenAI models.” Existing conversations remain in your chat history unless you delete them.

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Web and desktop path

  1. Open the account menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Select Data controls.
  4. Find Improve the model for everyone and switch it off.
  5. Select Done if the panel asks you to confirm.

iPhone and Android path

  1. Open the sidebar.
  2. Tap your profile icon.
  3. Choose Settings, then Data controls.
  4. Switch Improve the model for everyone off.

For a signed-in personal account, this preference applies across devices. You do not need to repeat the change separately on your phone and computer when they use the same account.

Turning the setting off is not the same as clearing history, exporting data, or deleting an account. Chats that were already saved remain visible in history until you remove them, and the setting does not retroactively erase content that was previously handled under an earlier preference. See the current navigation and deletion information in Data controls in ChatGPT.

Use Temporary Chat for one conversation

Temporary Chat is a per-conversation choice made before you send the first message. It is useful when you want a conversation separated from normal history and memory behavior without changing account-wide settings.

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Start one

  1. Start a new chat.
  2. Select Temporary.
  3. Before sending the first message, choose either Personalized or Unpersonalized.
  4. Send your message only after confirming the choice.

The Personalized/Unpersonalized choice cannot be changed after the conversation starts. If you selected the wrong mode, begin a new Temporary Chat with the desired option.

Personalized versus Unpersonalized

  • Personalized Temporary Chat can use existing Memory, Custom Instructions, and plugins to shape replies.
  • Unpersonalized Temporary Chat does not use Memory, Custom Instructions, or plugins.
  • Neither mode creates or updates memories while the conversation remains temporary.

History, model improvement, and retention

Temporary Chats do not appear in your normal chat history and are not used to improve models while they remain temporary. OpenAI says a copy may nevertheless be kept for up to 30 days for safety. That is a maximum safety-retention period, not a promise that every temporary conversation is stored for that entire time.

If you save a Temporary Chat, it becomes a regular chat. Once saved, it is governed by the account’s normal personalization and model-improvement settings, and it can appear in history like other regular conversations. OpenAI’s Temporary Chat FAQ describes these transitions.

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Third-party actions

If a Temporary Chat uses a GPT action, information sent to the external recipient is governed by that recipient’s privacy policy and may be retained longer than the temporary conversation itself. Temporary status does not override the third party’s data practices.

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Compare the available conversation modes

Choice Uses existing personalization? Creates or updates Memory? Appears in history? Model improvement
Regular chat Follows your account settings. May create or use Memory when enabled. Yes, until deleted or affected by a workspace policy. Follows your account or workspace setting.
Personalized Temporary Chat Can use existing Memory, Custom Instructions, and plugins. No, while it remains temporary. No, unless you save it. Not used while temporary.
Unpersonalized Temporary Chat Does not use Memory, Custom Instructions, or plugins. No, while it remains temporary. No, unless you save it. Not used while temporary.

Use a regular chat when continuity and history matter. Choose Personalized Temporary Chat when you want existing preferences without creating a lasting conversation record. Choose Unpersonalized Temporary Chat when you want the cleanest one-off context and no account personalization in that chat.

Which setting should you change?

Your goal Change this Also check
Stop ChatGPT from following a standing writing preference Disable or edit Custom Instructions. Start a new chat so earlier messages do not carry the old instruction.
Stop ChatGPT from remembering a personal fact Delete the saved memory and turn Memory off if you do not want new memories. Delete the source chat, file, or connected-app item as applicable.
Keep new personal-account chats out of model improvement Turn off Improve the model for everyone under Data controls. Delete history separately if you also want old chats removed.
Have a conversation that is absent from history Start a Temporary Chat. Choose Unpersonalized before the first message if existing personalization must not be used.
Keep a temporary conversation for later Save the Temporary Chat. After saving, treat it as a regular chat subject to account settings.

Personal accounts, managed workspaces, and missing settings

Controls can vary by account type, plan, region, platform, and rollout. A switch shown in one account may be absent or named differently in another. If you cannot find a setting, update the app, check the web version, and review the Personalization and Data controls sections rather than assuming the feature is unavailable everywhere.

Business, Enterprise, Edu, and Healthcare workspaces, as well as the API Platform, are excluded from model training by default according to OpenAI’s consumer-data guidance. Workspace administrators can still impose retention, access, or feature policies that change what members see and how content is handled. In a managed account, an organization policy can take precedence over a personal preference; contact the workspace administrator when a control is locked or missing.

Workspace policies also affect how long chats remain available and who can access them. Do not assume that a personal-account instruction about history applies unchanged inside an organization-managed workspace.

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Common problems and fixes

“I turned off Memory, but ChatGPT still mentions the detail.”

Turning the switch off is not deletion, and the current conversation may still contain the detail in its message context. Delete the saved memory, remove the source chat or file, and start a new conversation. If the detail came from a connected app, remove it at the source as well.

“I turned off model improvement, but my chats are still listed.”

That is expected. The Data controls switch governs use of new eligible conversations for model improvement; it does not clear history. Delete individual chats or use the account’s separate deletion and export controls if you need a different data action.

“My old Custom Instructions still seem active.”

Changes affect future conversations. A chat that was already underway can retain earlier messages and context. Disable or edit the instructions, then open a new chat to test the new behavior.

“I cannot find Temporary Chat.”

Look for the Temporary option when creating a new conversation, not inside an existing thread. Availability and labels can vary by platform, plan, region, and workspace. If it appears, make the Personalized or Unpersonalized choice before sending the first message.

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“I saved a Temporary Chat by mistake.”

Saving converts it to a regular chat. Delete the resulting conversation if you do not want it in history, and review your Data controls and Memory settings separately; saving does not itself undo or change those account settings.

“A third party received information from my temporary conversation.”

Check whether a GPT action or connected service was used. Temporary status applies to ChatGPT’s handling of that conversation, while the external recipient’s privacy policy controls data it receives and may retain.

Practical privacy checklist

  • Use Custom Instructions only for preferences you want applied broadly.
  • Review Memory regularly and remove saved details that are inaccurate or no longer appropriate.
  • When removing a remembered fact, delete both the saved memory and its underlying chat, file, or connected source where applicable.
  • Turn off Improve the model for everyone if you do not want new eligible personal-account conversations used to improve OpenAI models.
  • Use Unpersonalized Temporary Chat for a one-off conversation that should not use account personalization.
  • Do not send sensitive information to a GPT action unless you accept the external recipient’s retention and privacy terms.
  • On a managed workspace, check organization policy or ask the administrator because workspace rules can limit personal controls.

The key distinction is simple: Personalization determines what ChatGPT can use to tailor a reply, Data controls determine whether eligible new content may help improve models, and Temporary Chat isolates one conversation. Choose the narrowest control that matches your goal, then handle deletion separately when you need information removed rather than merely ignored.

For broader details about consumer and managed-workspace handling, consult How OpenAI handles data in consumer services.

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