How to delete your ChatGPT history, and what deleting does

The short answer

As of October 22, 2026, OpenAI's help center says you can delete one chat from its menu in your chat history, or clear your history under Settings, then Data controls, then Delete all chats. It says a deleted chat disappears from your account right away and is scheduled for permanent deletion from OpenAI's systems within 30 days.

OpenAI lists exceptions: chats already de-identified and separated from your account, and chats it must keep for security or legal reasons. OpenAI says deleted chats cannot be restored. OpenAI says deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a saved memory created from it, and deleting chats does not change whether future chats are used for training; those are separate settings.

Before you delete: export a copy (optional)

Because OpenAI says deleted chats cannot be recovered, you may want a copy first. OpenAI's Data Controls FAQ says to go to Settings, then Data Controls, and choose Export Data; the file arrives by email. OpenAI's Android app FAQ says the download link expires after 24 hours, and its iOS app FAQ says export is done from the web version.

How to delete a single chat

These are the steps in OpenAI's help center as of October 22, 2026.

• Web: open your chat history, select the more options menu (three dots) next to the chat, select Delete, then confirm.
• iPhone: tap the menu icon at the top left to open your history, press and hold the chat title, then tap Delete.
• Android: open the chat, tap the three vertical dots, then tap Delete.

How to delete all chats

OpenAI's help center gives one set of steps for clearing your history:

• Open Settings, then select Data controls.
• Select Delete all chats.
• Review the confirmation message and continue.
• To reach Settings, OpenAI's Data Controls FAQ says: on the web, select your profile icon at the bottom left; on iPhone, tap the three dots at the top right; on Android, tap the three lines at the top left.
• OpenAI says bulk delete and archive actions can affect chats in your current account or workspace, including chats in projects.

How to find and delete archived chats

OpenAI says archiving removes a chat from your sidebar, though it stays searchable; it does not delete it or change how long it is kept. To delete archived chats:

• Open Settings, then select Data controls.
• Select Archived chats or View archived chats, depending on your device, and Manage if it appears.
• Select Delete next to a chat to delete it, or Unarchive to restore it to your history.

How to delete ChatGPT's memories

OpenAI's help center says saved memories are stored separately from chat history, and that deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a memory saved from it. The controls are under Settings, then Personalization, then Memory.

• Single saved memories: use the Manage or Saved memories control in Memory settings to delete an item, or ask ChatGPT to forget it.
• The memory summary: open the more options menu in Memory settings and choose Delete and turn off memory. OpenAI says this turns memory off but does not delete past chats.
• Turning off Reference chat history: OpenAI says this schedules information remembered from past chats for deletion within 30 days, while the chats stay in your history.
• OpenAI says it may keep logs of deleted saved memories for up to 30 days for safety and debugging.
• Don't mention this again: OpenAI says this reduces future references but does not delete the original information.

How to delete shared links

OpenAI's shared links FAQ says deleting a chat also deletes any shared link to it, and deleting your account deletes your shared links. To remove links without deleting chats, go to Settings, then Data controls, and select Manage next to Shared links. OpenAI says anyone with a shared link can view the conversation as it stood when the link was made.

How to delete your whole ChatGPT account

OpenAI's help center says account deletion is permanent and deleted accounts cannot be reactivated. These are its steps as of October 22, 2026:

• Web: go to Settings, then Account, select Delete next to Delete account, enter your email or phone number, type DELETE, then select Permanently delete my account.
• iPhone: open the ChatGPT app, go to your account settings, tap Data Controls, select Delete Account, then confirm.
• Android: tap the two lines at the top left, open Settings from the dots next to your name, go to Data Controls, tap Delete Account, then confirm.
• If you cannot sign in: go to privacy.openai.com, select Make a Privacy Request, choose the consumer ChatGPT option and verify the email or phone number on the account.
• Business, Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces: OpenAI says self-service deletion is not available; contact your organization.

Cancel subscriptions first

OpenAI's help center says deleting your account cancels subscriptions billed directly by ChatGPT, but not subscriptions bought through Apple's App Store or Google Play, which you must cancel in those stores. It also says deleting may not stop active campaigns in an associated ChatGPT Ads account.

OpenAI's main deletion article says you can reuse the same email after 30 days if the account was fully deleted, and that a consumer account's phone number is removed after 30 days unless the account was disabled for a policy violation. Its iOS article says you cannot create a new account with the same email address, so the two pages differ.

What deleting does

• Removes the chat from your account view immediately, according to OpenAI's help center.
• Schedules the chat for permanent deletion from OpenAI's systems within 30 days. OpenAI's privacy policy uses the same 30-day window for other personal data you delete.
• For an account, OpenAI says it deletes your data within 30 days, though some data may be kept longer where the law requires or permits.
• Deletes shared links to the deleted chat, per OpenAI's shared links FAQ, though it says people who already imported the shared chat may still have it in their own history.

What deleting does not remove

OpenAI's own pages list these limits:

• Training data: OpenAI's privacy policy says the 30-day deletion does not apply to content already de-identified and disassociated from your account when you allowed it to be used to improve OpenAI's models. The OpenAI pages we reviewed do not say that deleting a chat removes it from models already trained.
• Security and legal holds: OpenAI says it may keep a deleted chat longer for security or legal obligations. Its privacy policy also lists banned content or accounts, data it is legally required to keep (such as under a lawful subpoena), payment records and a record of your deletion request.
• The New York Times case: In June 2025, OpenAI said a court order in The New York Times' copyright suit required it to keep consumer chats, including deleted ones. It later said the obligation ended on September 26, 2025. In an October 22, 2025 update, it said it is still keeping a limited set of user data from April through September 2025, which the Times continues to demand that it keep, accessible only to a small, audited legal and security team. In November 2025, OpenAI said it was de-identifying 20 million consumer chats from December 2022 to November 2024 and holding them separately for the case. On January 5, 2026, a federal judge in New York affirmed orders requiring OpenAI to produce that de-identified sample to the plaintiffs; we have not confirmed later steps. Our guide to whether ChatGPT is safe covers this in more detail.
• Memories and files: OpenAI says deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a saved memory created from it, and does not delete a file saved in your Library. OpenAI says files in projects or custom GPTs stay until the project, GPT or file is deleted.
• Health data: OpenAI's help center says to remove connected health accounts under Health, then Accounts, and that synced data is deleted within 30 days, while health information already in chats stays until you delete those chats.
• Recovery: OpenAI says deleted chats cannot be restored in ChatGPT or through its support team, including chats removed with Delete all chats.

How to stop future chats being used for training

Deleting history does not change your training setting. OpenAI's Data Controls FAQ says to turn off Improve the model for everyone under Settings, then Data Controls, on the web, iPhone or Android. It says the setting applies to your whole account and that new conversations are then not used for training. You can also choose Do not train on my content in OpenAI's Privacy Portal.

OpenAI's help center says giving a thumbs up or thumbs down can make the full conversation eligible for training even after you opt out. Temporary Chats are not used for training while they stay temporary, though OpenAI says it may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes.

Your right to delete

OpenAI's privacy policy lists a right to delete your personal data, depending on where you live, which you can use through your account's data controls, the Privacy Portal at privacy.openai.com, or by emailing dsar@openai.com. California's attorney general said on October 15, 2026, in a release about Character.AI's bankruptcy, that California residents can ask AI chatbot companies to delete their personal information and close open accounts. Whether a particular privacy law covers you or a given request is a legal question.

Laws and bills on chat data

The People-First Chatbot Act (H.R. 9619), introduced in Congress on July 9, 2026, would require chatbot providers to delete a user's chat log or personal data on request, bar keeping chat logs more than five years with exceptions, bar selling chat logs, and require consent before training on adults' chats. It is pending and is not law. State companion chatbot laws in California and New York, linked below, deal mainly with AI disclosures and crisis protocols; whether they apply to ChatGPT is a legal question.

We are not saying OpenAI is covered by, or out of compliance with, any of these laws. It may have practices it has not published, and whether a law applies to it is a legal question this guide does not decide.