ChatGPT Introduces Privacy Center to Help Users Manage Data and Security Settings

ChatGPT has introduced a new Privacy Center designed to help users understand and manage their privacy options from one place. The feature brings together information about chat history, memory, data usage, connected applications and account security, making it easier to find the controls that govern how personal information is handled.

The new centre serves as a guide to existing privacy settings rather than replacing them. Users can explore different topics, understand what individual controls do and navigate to the relevant setting when they want to make a change.

The rollout covers signed-in users on eligible Free, Go, Plus, Pro and Business accounts across the web and mobile applications. Availability may vary depending on a user's account, region and workspace configuration.

What Can Users Manage Through the Privacy Center?

The Privacy Center groups privacy-related information into three main areas: personalised chats and advertising, chat privacy, and data use and access.

The personalised chats section covers memory, advertising preferences and location-sharing options where available. These controls help users understand how remembered details may influence responses and how certain personalisation features operate.

The chat privacy section explains Temporary Chat, which offers an alternative to ordinary conversations when users do not want a discussion to appear in their regular chat history or contribute to personalisation through memory.

The data use and access section covers options related to connected applications, multi-factor authentication, model improvement and personal data management. Depending on the account, users can find information about exporting their data or requesting account deletion.

Bringing these topics together is intended to make privacy choices easier to locate without requiring users to search through multiple help pages or settings menus.

How to Open the New Privacy Center

Access differs slightly between desktop and mobile devices.

On the web, signed-in users can open their account menu, select Help and then choose Privacy Center. On mobile devices, the option is available through Settings, although its exact presentation may differ between operating systems and app versions.

Once inside, users can select a privacy topic to learn how it works. Where a management option is available, it directs them to the corresponding setting.

Importantly, simply opening the Privacy Center does not change account preferences, erase existing conversations or delete stored information. Users must take the relevant action within the applicable control to change their settings.

ChatGPT Users Can Control Whether Conversations Improve AI Models

One of the key privacy options concerns the use of conversations to improve AI models.

Eligible personal-account users can turn off the setting called “Improve the model for everyone”. When disabled, new conversations are not used to train OpenAI's models, although those conversations can still remain visible in the user's chat history.

This distinction matters because disabling model improvement is not the same as deleting chats. Users who want to remove conversation records must manage their history separately.

Temporary Chat offers another option for conversations that users do not want saved in their normal chat history or used to create memories. Such chats are not used for model improvement, but they may still be retained for a limited period for safety purposes.

Privacy Controls Depend on Account Type

Not every user will see identical options. Personal accounts and managed workplace accounts can have different controls, particularly when an organisation determines how information is retained or accessed.

For business users, administrator policies may restrict which settings are available. The Privacy Center does not override those rules or change an organisation's data-retention requirements.

Users should also review permissions before connecting external applications, since connected services may receive access to information necessary for the features they provide.

Why the Update Matters

As AI assistants become part of everyday work, study and personal tasks, understanding how conversations and account information are handled has become increasingly important.

The Privacy Center provides a more organised route to existing controls, but users still need to review the settings themselves. Checking model-improvement preferences, memory, connected-app permissions and account security can help users make informed decisions about their information.

The feature's practical value will depend on how easily users can find the options relevant to their accounts and understand the consequences of changing them.