How to delete ChatGPT history permanently, on the web, iPhone, and Android

The Morse teamPublished October 25, 202610 min read

To delete ChatGPT history permanently, delete the chats themselves (one at a time, or with Delete all chats under Settings, then Data controls), then your archived chats, saved memories, files in Library, shared links, and projects, because OpenAI stores each of those separately. Once you delete something, OpenAI says it's removed from your account at once and from its systems within 30 days, unless a de-identified copy is already in training data or OpenAI has to keep it for security or legal reasons.

We read OpenAI's help center pages and its US privacy policy on October 20, 2026. Several of those help pages had been updated within the previous day, so menu names may shift. Every step below is quoted or paraphrased from OpenAI's own instructions on how to do it, with a link to each page.

Does deleting ChatGPT history delete it?

From your account, yes, right away. From OpenAI's servers, within 30 days, with exceptions. OpenAI's page on deleting and archiving chats says a deleted chat is removed from your account view "immediately" and scheduled "for permanent deletion from its systems within 30 days." It also says you "cannot restore a deleted chat in ChatGPT or through OpenAI Support," so export anything you want to keep first.

Deleting a chat leaves other copies in place. OpenAI's Memory page says "deleting the original chat does not automatically delete a separate saved memory," and its retention page says "deleting a chat does not delete a file that remains saved in Library." Turning off training doesn't clear anything either: OpenAI's data controls page says switching off Improve the model for everyone "does not delete or hide saved chats," and archived and project chats stay where they are. The steps below clear each copy in turn.

Step 1: export your data first

Deletion can't be undone, and OpenAI says "an export cannot restore chats that have already been deleted." So export first (OpenAI).

On the web: sign in, open your profile menu, select Settings, then Data controls, then Export under "Export data", and select Confirm export.

On Android: tap your profile icon, scroll to Data Controls, select Export Data, and confirm (OpenAI).

If you can't sign in: use the Privacy Portal, select Make a Privacy Request, then I have a consumer ChatGPT account, then Download my data.

The export arrives by email or text and can take up to 7 days. The download link expires 24 hours after you get it. Self-service export works on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro, and not in Business, Enterprise, or ChatGPT for Healthcare workspaces, where the workspace owner handles it.

Step 2: delete one chat, or all of them

One chat, on the web: open your chat history, select the more options menu (•••) beside the chat, select Delete, and confirm (OpenAI).

One chat, on iPhone: tap the menu icon (≡) in the top-left corner, find the chat, press and hold its title, and tap the red Delete (OpenAI).

One chat, on Android: open the chat, tap the three vertical dots, then tap Delete (OpenAI).

Every chat at once: open Settings, select Data controls, select Delete all chats, and confirm. OpenAI says this "cannot be undone" and can reach "chats in projects" too.

Step 3: empty your archived chats

Archiving hides a chat from the sidebar without deleting it. OpenAI says archived chats "remain searchable" and keep the same retention as any saved chat. To clear them, open Settings, select Data controls, then Archived chats (or View archived chats on some devices, and Manage if it appears), and select Delete on each one (OpenAI). Skip Archive all chats: it tidies the sidebar but deletes nothing.

Step 4: delete what ChatGPT remembers

Memory has two parts, and each needs its own step (OpenAI). Open Settings, select Personalization, then Memory.

• Saved memories: delete each item under saved-memory controls, or choose Delete and turn off memory from the memory summary's more options menu (•••). That deletes what the summary shows and turns Memory off, but not your past chats.
• Reference chat history: turn it off. OpenAI says what it remembered from past chats is then "scheduled for deletion from OpenAI systems within 30 days." It doesn't touch the chats themselves or your saved memories.

Asking ChatGPT to "forget" a memory and Don't mention this again change what it brings up, not what's stored. OpenAI says Don't mention this again "does not delete the original source." OpenAI also "may retain logs of deleted saved memories for up to 30 days for safety and debugging purposes."

Step 5: delete your uploaded files from Library

ChatGPT saves the files you upload or create in chats to a separate Library, which OpenAI's Library page says is "available on web." Deleting the chat a file came from doesn't remove it. Open Library, select the file, and click Delete or the trash icon. If your Library shows Recently deleted, files wait there until you choose Delete forever or Delete all. Files connected from Google Drive can't be deleted from ChatGPT; delete them in Drive.

Step 6: delete your shared links

A shared link is public to anyone who has it. Open Settings, select Data controls, and select Manage next to Shared links. Delete each one, or open More actions and select Delete all shared links (OpenAI).

This stops new visits, but OpenAI says it "does not remove a conversation or task another person already saved." Someone who continued your shared chat has their own private copy, and you can't delete it.

Step 7: delete projects and custom GPTs

Projects: open the project's more options menu (•••) and select Delete project. OpenAI's Projects page says this permanently removes the project's chats, its instructions, and "files stored only in the project," but not files saved separately in Library. In a shared project, you can delete only the chats you own.

Custom GPTs you built: in the GPT builder, open the more options menu (•••) and delete the GPT (OpenAI). Files you uploaded as a GPT's knowledge are kept "until the GPT is deleted," then scheduled for deletion within 30 days. As of October 20, 2026, personal accounts can no longer create new GPTs, and OpenAI says it plans to retire custom GPTs in favor of Plugins (OpenAI), so delete any old ones you still have. A GPT's actions send data to an outside service, which OpenAI says may keep it "for longer than 30 days" under its own policy. Deleting in ChatGPT doesn't reach that copy.

Step 8: use Temporary Chat from now on

Open a new chat, select Temporary, and choose Unpersonalized before your first message (OpenAI). A temporary chat stays out of your history, doesn't create memories, and isn't used for training, but "OpenAI may keep a copy of a temporary chat for up to 30 days for safety purposes." If you save it, it becomes a regular chat that you'd have to delete like any other. Signed out, there's no history to clear: OpenAI's page on using ChatGPT without an account says you get one conversation at a time, kept "only for the current session on the same browser," and your training choice there "is tied to your browser" and resets if you clear your cookies. We compare it with other ways to hide who you are in anonymous ChatGPT.

Step 9: delete your account, if you want everything gone

Deleting the account is the only step that covers everything above at once. OpenAI's account deletion page says: "we will delete your data within 30 days, except we may retain a limited set of data for longer where required or permitted by law." Shared conversation links go with the account. Shared scheduled-task links don't, so delete those first.

On the web: open your account menu, select Settings, then Account, select Delete next to "Delete account", enter your email or phone number, type DELETE, and select Permanently delete my account.

On iPhone: go to your account settings, tap Data Controls, select Delete Account, and confirm (OpenAI).

On Android: tap your profile icon, scroll to Data Controls, select Delete OpenAI account, and confirm.

If you can't sign in: in the Privacy Portal, select Make a Privacy Request, then I have a consumer ChatGPT account, then Delete my ChatGPT account.

Cancel any App Store or Google Play subscription first. OpenAI says deleting your account "does not cancel an Apple subscription." OpenAI's pages disagree about reusing your email. The main account page says you can sign up again with the same address "after 30 days," while the iPhone and Android pages, read the same day, still say "You will NOT be able to create a new account using the same email address." Plan as if the stricter one applies. Your phone number is freer: the main page says OpenAI removes it "after 30 days" unless the account was disabled for breaking its terms, but deleting "does not reset" the separate limit on how many accounts one number can verify API keys for.

What each delete reaches, and what it leaves

Built from OpenAI's help pages as read on October 20, 2026.

What "permanently" means at OpenAI

It means within 30 days, with exceptions OpenAI lists in its US privacy policy. One is a de-identified copy already used for training, which deleting the chat doesn't reach; we cover it in does ChatGPT train on your data.

The same policy names the other cases where OpenAI keeps data after you delete it:

• A legal duty, "for instance, we receive a lawful subpoena," kept "for the duration of the relevant legal or regulatory obligation."
• Content or an account banned for breaking OpenAI's usage policies, kept to fight fraud and abuse.
• Payment and transaction records, kept for accounting and disputes.
• "The audit record of the erasure request," the proof that OpenAI did what you asked.

The legal exception has been used. In 2025 a court order in the New York Times copyright case made OpenAI keep chats users had deleted; OpenAI says that duty "ended on September 26, 2025," but it still stores "limited historical April–September 2025 user data" (OpenAI). We lay out the order date by date in the ChatGPT court order on data retention.

How Morse makes deleting a chat simple

ChatGPT needs all those steps because it keeps your history on OpenAI's servers, split across chats, memories, Library, links, and projects, so deleting means asking OpenAI one place at a time and then waiting out its 30 days. Morse keeps your chat history in your browser instead, encrypted, and our servers don't keep messages or log what you write.

• Stored only in your browser. Chats, Studio images, characters you make, and settings are stored in your browser, encrypted, and Morse keeps no copy of your chats on its servers. Clearing your browser, losing the device, or deleting your account deletes your chats, and Morse can't recover them, so keep a copy of anything you need.
• No Library to empty. Files you attach are sent with the message and never stored by Morse.
• No training copy. Morse doesn't train AI on your content, sell your data, or show ads, so there's no de-identified copy left in a training set.
• Little for a court to hold. Because we don't store chats, we usually have very little to give authorities. Our privacy policy has the details.

Then choose who handles each message on its way to the model:

• Private, so the model's host keeps nothing either. It's the default. Open-weight models like DeepSeek, Kimi, and GLM, plus Grok, run under zero data retention: Morse has zero data retention agreements with its inference, search, and other providers.
• E2EE, for a chat no one but you should ever read. Your browser checks the enclave's proof that it's genuine, then encrypts the message so only that enclave can open it, and our servers relay ciphertext they can't read. The enclaves are run by third-party providers, not by Morse. The guarantee rests on the enclave hardware and attestation working as designed.
• Anonymous, for GPT, Claude, or Gemini without the provider knowing it's you. Our proxy removes your account, email, and IP address. The provider may keep the message for a limited time to check for abuse, under its own policy, so use Private or E2EE for anything you'd want deleted everywhere.

A temporary chat on Morse is kept in memory only. You can try a chat from the home page without an account, or start free. End-to-end encrypted chats come with Pro, at $19 a month.