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Is ChatGPT private? What OpenAI keeps, and what it does with it

September 25, 2026

Private from other people, yes. Unstored, no. Per OpenAI's help centre, regular chats stay in your account until you delete them, deleted chats are removed from its systems within 30 days, and on consumer plans your chats can be used to train its models unless you turn off Improve the model for everyone. On Free and Go, ads can also draw on your conversations. Temporary chat is the most private option inside ChatGPT, and OpenAI may still keep a copy for up to 30 days. If you want a conversation that is never written down at all, that is what nixm is for.

The short answer

ChatGPT is not public: other users cannot see your chats, and OpenAI says it does not sell your data or share your conversations with advertisers. That is one meaning of private. The other meaning is what happens to your words after you type them. There, ChatGPT works like most assistants with an account: it keeps what you write so you can come back to it, and several separate settings decide what else happens. None of them is on the chat screen.

What ChatGPT keeps, and for how long

Per OpenAI's help centre, regular and archived chats stay saved to your account until you delete them. Archiving does not change that; an archived chat is kept exactly as long as a visible one. When you delete a chat, OpenAI schedules it for permanent deletion within 30 days. The exceptions are chats that were already de-identified and disconnected from your account, and anything OpenAI must keep longer for security or legal reasons. A deleted chat cannot be restored, even by OpenAI support.

Files follow their own rules. Deleting a chat does not delete a file that is still saved in your library, which is the gap covered in whether ChatGPT keeps the photos you upload. And "within 30 days" has not always meant 30 days: a 2025 court order in the New York Times case required OpenAI to preserve content it would otherwise have deleted, as covered in the NYT v. OpenAI explainer.

Training: the setting most people never open

On consumer plans, OpenAI may use your conversations to improve its models while a setting called Improve the model for everyone is on. You find it under Settings, then Data controls. Turning it off means your new conversations will not be used for training. It does not reach back to earlier ones, and it does not delete or hide anything; your history stays exactly as it was. OpenAI says it takes steps to reduce personal information in training data, and that by default it does not train on ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu or API content.

Ads now use conversations too

This part is new in 2026. OpenAI began showing ads to Free and Go users in February, and has since expanded them to more countries. Per its help centre, ads are chosen using the context of your current conversation. If ads personalisation is on, they can also draw on signals from your broader ChatGPT use. OpenAI says advertisers never receive your conversations and only get aggregate figures such as views and clicks. It also says ads do not influence answers. You can turn personalisation off; ads then use only the current chat. Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans have no ads.

Temporary chat, and what it does not do

Temporary chat is the most private mode inside ChatGPT. It stays out of your history, does not create memories, and is not used for training while it stays temporary. OpenAI still says it may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes. If you save a temporary chat, it becomes a regular chat and every rule above applies to it. The details are in what temporary chats hide and what they don't.

Memory is a separate thing

ChatGPT's memory is not your chat history, and it is not the training setting. It is a set of details ChatGPT carries between conversations to personalise answers. Deleting a chat does not necessarily delete a memory made from it, and turning off training does not turn memory off. Each has its own switch. That is why "I deleted it" and "it's gone" are two different claims, as the full picture of what ChatGPT stores sets out.

Work accounts are a different product

Everything above is about personal accounts. On a company ChatGPT workspace, OpenAI does not train on your content by default. The trade is that your chats become company records, and admins can reach them. That is covered in what enterprise admins can see.

So is ChatGPT private?

With training off, ads personalisation off, temporary chat for anything sensitive and a habit of deleting, ChatGPT's footprint shrinks to roughly 30 days per chat. Legal holds are the exception. With default settings it is a long-lived record that can train models and, on free plans, shape ads. How it compares with Claude, Gemini, Copilot and the rest is in what each AI chatbot keeps.

The version with nothing to switch off

Every setting on this page manages a record after it exists. nixm starts from the other end. The conversation is never written to a database, so there is no history to delete, nothing to train on and nothing to target ads with. What remains of a session is a small signal that dissolves after seven days. It is not a replacement for everything ChatGPT does. It is a place to think out loud without it becoming a profile.

frequently asked

Is ChatGPT private?

Private from other users, yes, and OpenAI says it does not share conversations with advertisers. But chats are stored until you delete them, can be used for training unless you opt out, and on Free and Go can inform the ads you see.

Does ChatGPT train on my conversations?

On consumer plans, yes, while Improve the model for everyone is on. Turning it off stops training on new conversations. OpenAI does not train on Business, Enterprise, Edu or API content by default.

How long does ChatGPT keep deleted chats?

OpenAI schedules deleted chats for permanent deletion within 30 days, unless they were already de-identified or must be kept for security or legal reasons.

Is ChatGPT temporary chat private?

It is the most private mode in ChatGPT: it stays out of your history, creates no memories and is not used for training. OpenAI may still keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety.

Is my ChatGPT private from advertisers?

OpenAI says advertisers never receive your conversations. On Free and Go, ads are matched to your current chat and, if ads personalisation is on, to wider signals from your ChatGPT use. Paid plans from Plus up have no ads.

Is ChatGPT safe for personal information?

Treat it as a stored record. Turn off training, use temporary chat for anything sensitive, and remember that deleting a chat can leave uploaded files and memories behind.

Can I try nixm without an account?

Yes. Open nixm.ai and seed a signal — no account needed, and the conversation is never written to a database.

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