The Hindu reported on 21 October 2026 that OpenAI is rolling out 'Locked chats' in ChatGPT. The feature keeps chosen conversations in a user's account but hides them from normal history, pinned chats and search. The aim is privacy on shared screens or devices. Locked chats sit in a separate part of the Projects menu and need a 4-digit PIN to open. Supported phones also accept Face ID, Touch ID or similar unlocking. Existing chats can be locked. OpenAI said it covers the Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.
Resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats. Locked chats may still show ads if ads were already available on that account. On Android, screenshots of locked chats may look blank or black, because the app hides protected content. Some conversation types may not qualify, but the article does not name them. OpenAI said the rollout is still under way. No finish date is given, and the article does not say how locked chats are stored.
For teams that run ChatGPT on shared computers, or manage Business, Enterprise or Edu accounts, this adds a way to keep chosen chats off the visible history. It limits what others see on a screen. The article describes no other change.