# ChatGPT temporary chat: how to start one and what it does > Start a ChatGPT temporary chat that stays out of your history. See what Personalized and Unpersonalized mean, how to save one, and how long it's kept. https://www.kortex-notebooklm.com/tutorials/how-to-use-temporary-chat-in-chatgpt 1. [Tutorials](/tutorials) 2. ChatGPT temporary chat: how to start one and what it does # ChatGPT temporary chat: how to start one and what it does 1 minute 5 steps Updated November 10, 2026 ## Quick answer Open a new chat and select Temporary. Choose Personalized or Unpersonalized before you send your first message, then type. The chat stays out of your history and is not used to improve OpenAI models while it stays temporary. OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety. ## Watch it first ChatGPT temporary chat: how to start one and what it does Read the transcript A temporary chat stays out of your ChatGPT history. Here's how to start one, and what it does. Open a new chat. Don't type yet, because the choices come before your first message. Select Temporary. Now choose Personalized or Unpersonalized. Unpersonalized doesn't use memory, custom instructions or plugins. Personalized can use them. Neither one creates or updates memories. You can't change this after the chat starts. Type your message and chat as usual. While it stays temporary, it isn't used to improve OpenAI models. OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days, for safety. Want to come back to it? Save it. It then becomes a regular chat and follows your account's settings. A chat you don't save can't be reopened after you leave. Save it only if you'll come back to it. ## What you need - A ChatGPT account, signed in at chatgpt.com ## On this page 1. [Open a new chat](#step-1) 2. [Select Temporary](#step-2) 3. [Choose Personalized or Unpersonalized](#step-3) 4. [Enter your message](#step-4) 5. [Save it only if you want to come back](#step-5) 6. [If it doesn’t work](#trouble) 7. [Questions](#faq) 1. ## Open a new chat In ChatGPT, start a new chat. Do not type a message yet, because the choices below must be made before the first message. 2. ## Select Temporary Select **Temporary**. The chat is now outside your chat history unless you save it later. 3. ## Choose Personalized or Unpersonalized **Unpersonalized** does not use memory, custom instructions or plugins. **Personalized** can use your existing memories, custom instructions and plugins. Neither option creates or updates memories. You cannot change the choice after the chat starts. 4. ## Enter your message Type your message and chat as usual. While it stays temporary, the chat is not used to improve OpenAI models, whichever option you chose. 5. ## Save it only if you want to come back To keep a temporary chat, save it. It then becomes a regular chat and follows your account's personalization and model-improvement settings. If Memory is on, a saved chat may be used to personalize later answers. A chat you do not save cannot be reopened from history after you leave. ## If it doesn’t work My temporary chat is gone That is how it works. A temporary chat does not appear in your history unless you save it, and it cannot be reopened from history after you leave. Save the chat before you leave if you want to return to it. I want to switch from Unpersonalized to Personalized You cannot change it after the conversation starts. Start a new temporary chat and choose the other option before your first message. I do not see Temporary Open a fresh new chat first. Your account or workspace rules take priority over the option for any one chat, so a work workspace may differ. ## Questions people ask Something we missed? [Ask us](#contact). ### Does OpenAI keep temporary chats? OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes. Once you save the chat, it follows the retention rules for saved chats. ### Does a temporary chat use memory? Only if you chose Personalized, and then it can use existing memories. It never creates or updates memories while it stays temporary. ### Can I use temporary chat with a custom GPT? Yes. If the GPT uses actions, data sent to a third party through an action is governed by that party's privacy policy, and it may keep the data longer than 30 days. ### Is a temporary chat fully private? No. It stays out of your history and model training, but a copy can be kept for up to 30 days for safety. Limited safety context can still be used in rare, high-risk situations. ## Sources - [Temporary chat in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8914046-temporary-chat-in-chatgpt) , checked November 10, 2026 - [Chat and file retention in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8983778-chat-and-file-retention-policies-in-chatgpt) , checked November 10, 2026 ## Keep going [Chat Library Keep your AI chats on your computer and search them, next to your YouTube videos and notebooks.](/features#organize) [Kortex docs The full reference for this feature, with every option.](/docs/chat-library) ### More tutorials - [How to archive ChatGPT chats and find them again](/tutorials/how-to-archive-chats-in-chatgpt) - [How to continue a ChatGPT conversation in a new chat](/tutorials/how-to-continue-a-chatgpt-conversation-in-a-new-chat) - [How to delete ChatGPT history (one chat or all chats)](/tutorials/how-to-delete-chatgpt-chat-history) - [How to delete Claude chats: one, many or all at once](/tutorials/how-to-delete-claude-chats) [All tutorials](/tutorials) ## Do it on your own notebooks. Install the Kortex extension and follow these steps on a notebook you already have. [Add to Chrome](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/kortex/hdapplggdhndkblofffknpmnnnnbncbn) 100,000+ users, rated 4.5 on the Chrome Web Store.