{
    "format": "anawords-story/1",
    "docs": "https://anawords.com/data",
    "url": "https://anawords.com/story/chatgpt-locked-chats-pin-face-id-what-it-protects",
    "title": "ChatGPT now lets you lock chats behind a PIN or Face ID, but they are not encrypted",
    "summary": "Locked Chats hide sensitive conversations from anyone using your device. They do not change data retention or training settings, and forgetting the PIN means losing the chats.",
    "section": "Tools & Apps",
    "type": "launch",
    "published": "2026-10-22T19:29:16+05:30",
    "updated": "2026-10-22T19:29:16+05:30",
    "version": 1,
    "author": {
        "name": "Mayank Sahu",
        "url": "https://anawords.com/author/mayank-sahu"
    },
    "how_checked": "Sources checked by AI; published under the editor’s standing approval. Not read line by line by a person before publication.",
    "ai_assisted": true,
    "research_note": "https://anawords.com/research/chatgpt-locked-chats-pin-face-id-what-it-protects",
    "labels": {
        "confirmed": {
            "name": "Confirmed",
            "meaning": "An official source says it: lab docs, pricing page, notice."
        },
        "reported": {
            "name": "Reported",
            "meaning": "Two or more independent, named outlets say it."
        },
        "claim": {
            "name": "Company claim",
            "meaning": "Only the company says it. Not checked by anyone else yet."
        },
        "unconfirmed": {
            "name": "Unconfirmed",
            "meaning": "One report only, shown with its source."
        },
        "unknown": {
            "name": "Not known",
            "meaning": "Not announced or not answered yet."
        }
    },
    "facts": [
        {
            "id": "f1",
            "text": "OpenAI began rolling out Locked Chats on 20 October 2026, protected by a PIN or Face ID/Touch ID.",
            "label": "reported",
            "label_name": "Reported",
            "key_fact": true,
            "sources": [
                1,
                2
            ],
            "outcome": null
        },
        {
            "id": "f2",
            "text": "Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu; not on ChatGPT for Healthcare.",
            "label": "reported",
            "label_name": "Reported",
            "key_fact": false,
            "sources": [
                1,
                2
            ],
            "outcome": null
        },
        {
            "id": "f3",
            "text": "Locking does not add end-to-end encryption or change retention.",
            "label": "reported",
            "label_name": "Reported",
            "key_fact": true,
            "sources": [
                1,
                2
            ],
            "outcome": null
        },
        {
            "id": "f4",
            "text": "Resetting a forgotten PIN permanently deletes locked chats.",
            "label": "reported",
            "label_name": "Reported",
            "key_fact": true,
            "sources": [
                1,
                2
            ],
            "outcome": null
        },
        {
            "id": "f5",
            "text": "Locked chats can still be used for training if that setting is on.",
            "label": "unconfirmed",
            "label_name": "Unconfirmed",
            "key_fact": false,
            "sources": [
                2
            ],
            "outcome": null
        }
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "n": 1,
            "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/chatgpt-now-lets-you-lock-your-chats/",
            "title": "TechCrunch: ChatGPT now lets you lock your chats",
            "type": "outlet",
            "checked": "22 Oct 2026",
            "archive": {
                "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261022140016/https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/chatgpt-now-lets-you-lock-your-chats/",
                "archived": "2026-10-22T19:30:16+05:30"
            },
            "original_gone": false
        },
        {
            "n": 2,
            "url": "https://www.notebookcheck.net/ChatGPT-can-now-lock-chats-behind-a-PIN-but-they-are-not-encrypted.1431008.0.html",
            "title": "Notebookcheck: ChatGPT can now lock chats behind a PIN, but they are not encrypted",
            "type": "outlet",
            "checked": "22 Oct 2026",
            "archive": {
                "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261022140531/https://www.notebookcheck.net/ChatGPT-can-now-lock-chats-behind-a-PIN-but-they-are-not-encrypted.1431008.0.html",
                "archived": "2026-10-22T19:35:31+05:30"
            },
            "original_gone": false
        }
    ],
    "promises": [],
    "prices": [],
    "incidents": [],
    "image": {
        "url": "https://anawords.com/uploads/2026/10/chatgpt-locked-chats-pin-face-id-what-it-protects-16x9.webp",
        "kind": "illustration",
        "note": "Anawords illustration made by software from facts in the story. Not a photograph."
    },
    "changes": [
        {
            "version": 1,
            "date": "2026-10-22T19:29:16+05:30",
            "correction": false,
            "note": "First published. Research note published first. Sources checked by AI; approved for publication by the editor."
        }
    ],
    "license": {
        "facts_and_data": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)",
        "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
        "article_text": "© Anawords. Quote with a link.",
        "attribution": "Anawords, https://anawords.com/story/chatgpt-locked-chats-pin-face-id-what-it-protects"
    }
}