To delete ChatGPT history, open your chat history, pick a chat's more options menu (•••), choose Delete and confirm. To clear everything, use Settings > Data controls > Delete all chats. This guide follows OpenAI's Help Center pages as of Nov. 3, 2026.

How to delete a single chat

On the web:

  1. Open your ChatGPT chat history.
  2. Select the more options menu (•••) for the chat.
  3. Select Delete.
  4. Confirm the deletion.

On iOS or Android, you can also do it from the app:

  1. Open the ChatGPT app.
  2. Select the menu icon (two horizontal lines).
  3. Find the conversation and press and hold its title.
  4. Select Delete.

How to delete all your ChatGPT history

To delete chat history in ChatGPT in one go:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Data controls.
  3. Select Delete all chats.
  4. Review the confirmation message, then continue.

OpenAI's deleting page says this can affect chats in your current account or workspace, including chats in projects, and that Delete all chats cannot be undone.

What happens after you delete

  • ChatGPT removes the chat from your account view immediately.
  • OpenAI schedules it for permanent deletion from its systems within 30 days. The deleting page names two exceptions: the chat was already de-identified and disassociated from your account, or OpenAI must keep it longer for security or legal obligations.
  • You cannot restore a deleted chat in ChatGPT or through OpenAI Support, per the same page.

Archive is not delete

Archiving takes a chat out of the regular sidebar but keeps it in your account. Archived chats remain searchable, and archiving does not change the retention period. You can manage them in Settings > Data controls, under Archived chats or View archived chats. From there you can unarchive a chat or delete it.

Locked chats, where available, are the same kind of case. A locked chat is hidden, not deleted, and OpenAI's data controls page says locked chats remain saved but are hidden from the sidebar, Search, recents, notifications and previews.

How to delete ChatGPT search history

Archived chats remain searchable, and a deleted chat is removed from your account view immediately. To remove a conversation, delete the chat as shown above.

What deleting a chat does not remove

  • Saved memories. OpenAI says saved memories are stored separately from chat history, and deleting the original chat does not automatically delete a separate saved memory. To remove one, open Settings > Personalization > Memory and delete it there. The Memory page adds that deleting a saved memory does not remove mentions of that information from past conversations, and that OpenAI may keep logs of deleted saved memories for up to 30 days for safety and debugging.
  • Files in Library or Space. Deleting a chat does not delete them. Delete those separately if you want the saved copies gone.
  • Data in a connected app. Per the deleting page, deleting a chat removes the conversation and connected-app data kept inside it from your account, but not the original data in the app. Disconnecting an app does not delete past conversations that already used its data.

Turning off Improve the model for everyone also does not delete anything. OpenAI's data controls page says regular, archived and project chats stay where they are. It sets whether your chats can help train models, which is a different job.

Keep a chat out of history from the start

A temporary chat stays out of your chat history and is not used to improve OpenAI models while it remains temporary. To start one, open a new chat, select Temporary, choose Personalized or Unpersonalized, and send your message.

OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes. If you save it, it becomes a regular chat that follows your account settings.

Does it differ by plan?

OpenAI's data controls page says available controls depend on whether you are signed in, your plan and your workspace settings. The deleting page says authorized compliance tools may still access eligible workspace data under your organization's retention policy, and that Delete all chats can affect a workspace. On managed workspaces, check with your workspace owner.

Related: the ChatGPT shared-link security flaw OpenAI fixed on Oct. 26.

Sources

We read these four OpenAI Help Center pages on Nov. 3, 2026.

As of Nov. 3, 2026.