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To remove information ChatGPT remembers, delete the relevant saved memory and the chat where you shared it. They are separate records: deleting one does not necessarily delete the other. You may also need to delete a separately saved file or review a connected app. The controls below reflect OpenAI’s current guidance; names and availability can vary by plan, region, platform, memory experience, and workspace settings.

Delete a saved memory

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Personalization, then Memory.
  3. Find the relevant entry in the available memory controls and delete it. Depending on your account, the controls may be called Manage, Saved memories, or Memory summary. You can also ask ChatGPT to forget a memory, but check the memory controls afterward to verify it is gone.
  4. Delete the chat where you originally shared the information. Then check for copies in archived chats, Library files, and connected-app content.

OpenAI notes that a memory summary is a high-level view and may not show every detail or source Memory can reference. Deleted saved-memory logs may be retained for up to 30 days for safety and debugging. See OpenAI’s Memory in ChatGPT guidance and Memory FAQ.

Turn off Memory or Reference chat history

Go to Settings > Personalization > Memory and turn off the applicable control, if it is available. Depending on the account, you may see options such as Reference saved memories or Reference chat history.

Turning off Memory is not the same as deleting saved chats or memories. If you turn off Reference chat history, information remembered from past chats is scheduled for deletion from OpenAI systems within 30 days; the original chats remain unless you delete them separately. Turning the feature on again may allow new remembered information to be created from chats that still exist. See Memory in ChatGPT.

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Delete one chat

  1. Open your chat history and find the conversation.
  2. Open the conversation’s more-options menu.
  3. Select Delete and confirm.

The chat disappears from your account view immediately. OpenAI says permanent deletion from its systems is scheduled within 30 days, except for data already de-identified and disassociated from your account or data that must be kept longer for security or legal obligations. A deleted chat cannot be restored through ChatGPT or OpenAI Support. See Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT and Chat and file retention in ChatGPT.

Delete all chats

  1. Open Settings > Data controls.
  2. Select Delete all chats.
  3. Review the confirmation and continue only if you are sure.

This action cannot be undone. It may apply to chats in the current account or workspace, including project chats. Workspace retention policies and administrative controls may affect what is available to delete. Details are in OpenAI’s chat deletion guidance.

Archive a chat instead of deleting it

Choose Archive in a conversation’s options menu when you want to clear it from the regular sidebar but keep it in your account. Archiving does not delete the conversation, and archived chats follow the same retention rules as other saved chats.

To find archived conversations, open Settings > Data controls > Archived chats (the label may vary). From there, choose Unarchive to return a chat to the sidebar or Delete to remove it. Archived chats remain searchable. See Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT.

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Check files, connected apps, and other data controls

Library files

A file saved in Library is separate from the chat that contains it. Delete the file in Library as well if you want to remove it. Files held by Google Drive or another connected service may need to be managed at their original source. See Using Library to manage files in ChatGPT.

Connected apps

Disconnecting an app stops future access; it does not erase historical conversation content that already used the app’s data. Delete relevant chats separately. See OpenAI’s chat deletion guidance.

Model improvement setting

Turning off Improve the model for everyone is not a deletion control. New conversations are not used to train models under this setting, but they can still appear in chat history. See Data controls in ChatGPT.

Temporary Chat

Temporary Chat does not appear in history, create or update memories, or improve models while it is temporary. OpenAI says Temporary Chats may nevertheless be retained for up to 30 days for safety purposes. See How OpenAI handles data in consumer services and Data controls in ChatGPT.

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