How to Delete Your ChatGPT Account and History

Delete One Chat or All Chats

Confirm the intended ChatGPT account and workspace before deleting chats.

Web

1. Find the conversation in the chat sidebar.
2. Open its more options menu.
3. Select Delete and confirm.

iPhone and Android

1. Open the ChatGPT app’s history using the menu icon.
2. Press and hold the conversation title.
3. Select Delete and confirm any prompt.

For several selected chats, repeat these steps.

To clear history on web or mobile, open Settings, then Data controls. Choose Delete all chats and confirm. This can include project chats.

Reload history to confirm removal. If a chat remains, check the account and workspace. OpenAI’s chat deletion instructions explain the controls.

Archive Instead of Delete

Archiving hides a ChatGPT conversation from the sidebar while keeping it saved and searchable.

1. Open the conversation’s more options menu and select Archive.
2. To find archived chats, open Settings, then Data controls.
3. Open Archived chats or View archived chats, then Manage if shown.
4. Select Unarchive to restore the sidebar entry, or Delete to remove the conversation.

Archiving leaves client details in the account.

Clear ChatGPT Memory and Images

Delete ChatGPT’s remembered information separately from the conversations or images that contain it. Clearing history alone can leave a saved memory behind.

Remove Remembered Information

1. Open Settings, then Personalization, then Memory.
2. Open the memory summary or saved-memory controls available to your account.
3. Delete the relevant remembered information. Where the summary provides Delete and turn off memory, that action also disables Memory.
4. Delete the chats where you shared or repeated the information, including archived chats.
5. Remove saved files containing the information. Disconnect a connected app if you also want to stop future access to its content.

Turning Memory off leaves past chats in place. Turning off Reference chat history schedules its remembered information for deletion within 30 days, while separate saved memories remain. OpenAI can retain deleted saved-memory logs for up to 30 days for safety and debugging.

Reopen the memory controls to confirm the entry is gone. Use the controls described in OpenAI’s memory guide for the memory experience shown in your account.

Remove Generated and Uploaded Images

For an image in My images, OpenAI’s image instructions say to delete the conversation that created it. Use the chat’s more options menu on web, or press and hold its title on iPhone or Android.

An uploaded image can also remain as a separate saved file. In Library, select that file and choose Delete or its trash icon. If Recently deleted appears, use Delete forever there to remove it sooner.

Delete the originating chat too if it contains client details.

Check both the image view and Library after deleting. OpenAI’s Library guide distinguishes a saved file from the chat that used it. Removing a cloud copy also leaves any downloads you saved on your own devices.

Export Your Data First

Export ChatGPT data before deleting anything you need to keep. You need access to the account’s email inbox or phone number for verification and delivery.

1. On web, open your profile menu, then Settings and Data controls.
2. Under Export data, select Export, then Confirm export.
3. On iPhone, open account settings, then Data controls and Export data. Select Confirm export.
4. On Android, open profile settings, then Data controls and Export Data. Confirm the export.
5. If the app directs you to ChatGPT on web, sign in to the same account and follow the web steps.
6. Download the ZIP file from the email or SMS notification. Open it and confirm the conversations you need are included before deleting them.

OpenAI’s export instructions allow up to seven days for delivery. The download link expires after 24 hours. Request another export if the link expires.

Business and Enterprise users must use organisation-managed data access instead of self-service export.

Store any retained export in your firm’s approved location with access restricted to the people who need it.

Delete Your ChatGPT Account

Account deletion ends access across OpenAI services. Export first and resolve subscription renewals.

Web

1. Open the account menu, then Settings and Account.
2. Select Delete beside Delete account.
3. Enter the account email or phone number and type DELETE when prompted.
4. Select Permanently delete my account.

iPhone and Android

1. Open account settings, then Data controls.
2. On iPhone, select Delete account. On Android, select Delete OpenAI account or Delete Account.
3. Follow ownership verification prompts and confirm deletion.

If deletion isn’t confirmed, use the OpenAI Privacy Portal. Select Make a Privacy Request, then I have a consumer ChatGPT account, then Delete my ChatGPT account. Complete verification.

Managed workspace users must contact their organisation, as OpenAI’s account deletion guide explains.

Deletion cancels subscriptions billed directly by ChatGPT. For Apple purchases, cancel through the iPhone’s Settings, your name, Subscriptions and ChatGPT. For Google Play purchases, open the purchasing account’s Subscriptions, choose ChatGPT and cancel.

Confirm the store subscription is no longer set to renew before deleting your account. OpenAI’s cancellation guide explains each billing route.

What OpenAI Keeps After You Delete

OpenAI removes deleted chats from your account view immediately and schedules permanent deletion within 30 days. Its retention policy makes exceptions for content already de-identified and disassociated from your account, or retained for security or legal obligations. Archiving leaves the normal retention period unchanged.

You can’t recover deleted ChatGPT chats through the interface or Support. An empty sidebar proves the chats are no longer visible in that account. It doesn’t prove every retained system copy has already been erased.

OpenAI’s update on the New York Times litigation says the order requiring ongoing indefinite retention ended in 2025. It describes a limited historical set of 2025 data that remains under legal hold. The update identifies the exact affected period and regional exclusions.

That hold is separate from the normal deletion schedule and doesn’t make those chats recoverable by you.

For client information, keep a record of what you deleted and the action you confirmed. Apply your firm’s retention decision to any export or local image copies as well as the ChatGPT account.