Last read: 24 Oct 2026 · From OpenAI’s own pages
ChatGPT: what happens to your chats
1. Training
Setting: Settings > Data controls > “Improve the model for everyone”, or “Do not train on my content” in the OpenAI Privacy Portal.
Feedback: giving a thumbs up or down can make the whole conversation eligible for training.
2. Retention and deletion
Deleted chats leave your account at once and are scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days, unless held for legal or security reasons.
Temporary Chats are deleted within 30 days.
From 13 May to 26 Sep 2025 a US court order required OpenAI to keep chat output that would otherwise have been deleted. OpenAI says that order has ended and that it has returned to 30-day deletion, with limited data from April to September 2025 still under legal hold. See the change log.
3. Human review
Temporary Chats may be reviewed to monitor abuse.
Review of regular chats: not stated on the pages we could read.
What still applies with training off
- Feedback can reopen training use.
- The 30-day deletion window.
- Legal and security holds.
Worth knowing, in plain words
Terms in a privacy policy can be hard to read. These are the points that matter most for ChatGPT, with a generic example of each. The examples are illustrations, not real cases.
Feedback is a separate channel
Rating or reporting an answer can send that conversation, or a slice of it, to the company, even when your other settings are off.
Example, illustrative onlyYou switch training off, then tap thumbs-down on a bad answer to help the company fix it. That one tap may be treated as permission for that conversation.
What this page says: Giving a thumbs up or down can make the whole conversation eligible for training.
Temporary does not mean zero
Temporary or private chat modes keep your chat out of your visible history. The company may still hold a copy for a short period.
Example, illustrative onlyYou use a temporary chat for a sensitive question and close the window. A copy can still exist on the company’s systems for the period its page states.
What this page says: Temporary Chats are deleted within 30 days.
Delete is not instant
Deleting a chat usually removes it from your view first. Removal from the company’s systems follows later, within the period stated.
Example, illustrative onlyYou delete a chat on Monday. It is gone from your list at once, but the stated deletion period can run for weeks after that.
What this page says: Deleted chats are scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days.
A legal reason can override your delete
Policies often keep the right to retain data for legal, compliance or safety reasons. In those cases a deletion request may not remove the data when you expect.
Example, illustrative onlyA company is ordered by a court to preserve records. Data that would normally be deleted is kept until the order ends.
What this page says: A 2025 US court order required OpenAI to keep chat output that would otherwise have been deleted. OpenAI says it has ended, with limited data still held. See the change log.
“Not stated” is not “No”
When the pages we read are silent on a point, we say “Not stated”. That means we found no statement, not that the practice does not exist.
Example, illustrative onlyA page says nothing about human review. You cannot conclude that nobody reads chats; you can only conclude the page does not say.
What this page says: Review of regular chats is not stated on the pages we could read.
Sources
- OpenAI: How your data is used to improve model performance
- OpenAI: Data Controls FAQ
- OpenAI: Response to NYT data demands · Updated 22 Oct 2025
“Not stated” means the pages we read are silent on the point. It is not a statement that the practice does not exist. Wording is checked against the page on the date above and may have changed since.
Spot an error? Email corrections@aichatprivacy.com with a link to the source.