{"type":"post","id":"keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c","slug":"keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c","title":"Keep sensitive conversations out of view with Locked Chats in ChatGPT.","description":"**Thesis:** A visibility lock is a useful interface control, but it should not be confused with a security or data-retention boundary.","retrieval_nugget":"**Thesis:** A visibility lock is a useful interface control, but it should not be confused with a security or data-retention boundary.","published_at":"2026-10-20","updated_at":"2026-10-20","record_date":"2026-10-20","date_kind":"published_at","topics":["security"],"source_urls":["https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001411-using-locked-chats-in-chatgpt"],"schema_version":"newruntime-agent-readable-v0.2","stable_id":"post:keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c","status":"published","visuals":[],"editorial_provenance":{"schema_version":"newruntime-editorial-copy-v1","content_status":"source_grounded_final","final_copy_sha256":"sha256:391a72d999f3e543eff5f5bc0361eefae21752ca37ad886ee0406b8f65a7e439","reviewed_at":"2026-10-20T20:08:49.240Z","source_evidence_count":1,"verified_claim_count":2,"site_analysis_schema_version":"newruntime-site-analysis-v1","site_object_kind":"field_note","observed_fact_count":2,"implication_count":2,"watch_condition_count":1,"related_record_count":0},"analysis":{"schema_version":"newruntime-site-analysis-v1","object_kind":"field_note","thesis":"A visibility lock is a useful interface control, but it should not be confused with a security or data-retention boundary.","observed_facts":[{"text":"OpenAI says Locked Chats move selected conversations out of regular history, pinned chats, and standard conversation search, and are opened in Projects > Locked chats with a four-digit PIN or supported mobile authentication.","source_urls":["https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001411-using-locked-chats-in-chatgpt"]},{"text":"OpenAI says locking does not create end-to-end encryption, change chat retention, or alter the “Improve the model for everyone” setting; resetting the PIN permanently deletes locked chats and information protected only by it.","source_urls":["https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001411-using-locked-chats-in-chatgpt"]}],"mechanism":"The feature relocates selected conversations from ordinary views and gates access through an account PIN or supported device authentication, while leaving encryption, retention, and model-improvement settings unchanged.","why_now":"OpenAI says Locked Chats are rolling out gradually across Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans, so users are encountering a new privacy control whose label could be mistaken for stronger protection.","implications":["Treat the feature as a way to reduce casual visibility during shared-device or screen-sharing use, not as a protected vault for sensitive material.","PIN recovery entails permanent deletion of locked chats and data protected only by the PIN."],"evidence_boundary":"The official help page documents feature behavior and stated limitations; it does not establish the rollout completion date or independently measure how much exposure the feature prevents.","watch_conditions":["Watch whether OpenAI adds a separate documented encryption or retention control, rather than inferring one from the Locked Chats label."],"related_records":[],"new_branch_reason":"No prior New Runtime record is supplied for this specific feature; this creates a distinct record about the gap between interface-level hiding and security or retention guarantees."},"editor":{"role":"editor","name":"Andrey Reshetnikov","profile":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md","profile_json":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json","same_as":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshetnikov1/","https://t.me/lapetuse"]},"routes":{"html":"https://newruntime.com/posts/keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c/","markdown":"https://newruntime.com/posts/keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c.md","json":"https://newruntime.com/posts/keep-sensitive-conversations-out-of-view-with-locked-919d7c.json"},"next_reads":[{"type":"topic","path":"/topics/security/","url":"https://newruntime.com/topics/security/","title":"Security","reason":"Explore the security topic hub.","media_type":"text/html","markdown_url":"https://newruntime.com/topics/security.md","json_url":"https://newruntime.com/topics/security.json"},{"type":"collection","path":"/posts/","url":"https://newruntime.com/posts/","title":"Field Notes","reason":"Open the latest editorial analysis.","media_type":"text/html","json_url":"https://newruntime.com/posts.json"},{"type":"collection","path":"/source-ledger.json","url":"https://newruntime.com/source-ledger.json","title":"Source Ledger","reason":"Inspect the public source evidence graph.","media_type":"application/json"}]}