Tech

ChatGPT users can now turn off their chat history, OpenAI announces

Key Points
  • OpenAI began rolling out new controls Tuesday that allow ChatGPT users to turn off their chat history.
  • Any conversations that take place while chat history is disabled will not be used to train OpenAI's models or appear in the "history" sidebar, the company wrote in a blog post.
  • OpenAI said it will keep the new conversations for 30 days, but it will only review them if it is necessary to monitor for abuse.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, Feb. 7, 2023.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images

OpenAI began rolling out new controls Tuesday that will allow ChatGPT users to turn off their chat history.

Any conversations that take place while chat history is disabled will not be used to train OpenAI's models or appear in the "history" sidebar, the company wrote in a blog post. OpenAI said it will keep the new conversations for 30 days, but it will only review them if it is necessary to monitor for abuse.

The new controls come after a bug gave ChatGPT users brief access to records of other people's conversations last month, and Italy became the first government to ban the chatbot over privacy concerns.

"We hope this provides an easier way to manage your data than our existing opt-out process," OpenAI wrote in the post. The company added that users can change their chat history settings at any time.

OpenAI also announced a new option Tuesday that will make it easier for users to export their conversations and learn which information is stored in ChatGPT. Users who export their conversations will receive the data in a file via email, according to the company.

ChatGPT automatically generates text based on written prompts in a fashion that's much more advanced and creative than the chatbots of Silicon Valley's past. The software debuted in late November and quickly turned into a viral sensation as tech executives and venture capitalists gushed about it on Twitter, even comparing it to Apple's debut of the iPhone in 2007.

OpenAI said Tuesday that it plans to make a new ChatGPT Business subscription available in the coming months.