Guide

How to delete ChatGPT chats (one, several or all)

Deleting a ChatGPT conversation takes a few clicks, but it doesn't wipe everything connected to it, and it can't be undone. Here's how to delete one chat, a group of chats or your whole history, and what stays behind afterwards.

Updated 15 October 2026

Quick answer: to delete one chat, open the ••• menu next to it in your history, select Delete and confirm. To clear everything, go to Settings → Data controls → Delete all chats. The chat disappears from your account straight away, it's set to be erased from OpenAI's systems within 30 days, and nobody can restore it, not even OpenAI Support.

These steps were checked against OpenAI's help pages in October 2026. Menu labels can shift slightly between app versions.

Before you delete anything

Keep a copy if you might need it. Deleted chats are gone for good. If there's any chance you'll want a conversation later, export your ChatGPT history first.
Consider archiving instead. If you just want a tidier sidebar, archiving hides a chat without deleting it. Our guide to organizing ChatGPT conversations covers when each makes sense.
Check which account you're in. Deleting applies to the account and workspace you're signed in to. A personal account and a work workspace keep separate histories.

Delete one chat on the web

Find the conversation in your chat history in the sidebar. If it's old, use Search to find it.
Open the ••• (more options) menu next to it.
Select Delete.
Confirm when ChatGPT asks. The chat vanishes from your history immediately.

Delete a chat in the iPhone or Android app

Open the ChatGPT app and tap the menu icon in the top-left corner to see your history.
Find the chat, then press and hold its title.
In the menu that pops up, tap Delete (shown in red).

Delete several chats

As of October 2026, OpenAI's help pages don't describe a way to tick several chats and delete them together. You have three practical options:

One by one. Repeat the steps above for each chat. It's slower, but you choose exactly what goes.
Delete a whole project. If the chats sit in one project, open the project's ••• menu and select Delete project. This permanently removes the project's chats, its instructions and any files stored only in that project, and it can't be undone. Move any chat you want to keep out of the project first.
Clean up your archive. Go to Settings → Data controls → Archived chats (called View archived chats on some devices, sometimes behind a Manage button). Each archived chat has a Delete option.

Delete all your chats at once

Open Settings from your profile menu (on a phone, open the sidebar and tap your profile icon).
Select Data controls.
Select Delete all chats.
Read the confirmation message carefully, then continue.

This applies to the chats in whichever account or workspace you're currently in, project chats included. There is no undo. If you'd rather hide everything without losing it, the same screen offers Archive all chats.

What deleting removes, and what it leaves

Item	After you delete the chat
The chat in your history and search	Gone straight away (a stale search result can linger briefly)
OpenAI's copy	Scheduled for permanent deletion within 30 days (exceptions below)
A shared link to the chat	Removed
Chats other people continued from your shared link	Separate chats in their accounts, so they stay
Saved memories created from the chat	Not necessarily deleted; remove them in memory settings
Files saved to your Library	Kept until you delete them from Library
Data in a connected app (for example, the original email or file)	Untouched in that app
A scheduled task tied to the chat	Paused; its shared task link still works until you delete it

For a real clean-up, delete the chat, then remove any related memory under Settings → Personalization → Memory, delete leftover files in Library, and check Settings → Data controls → Shared links for anything you're still sharing.

Good to know

The 30-day window has exceptions. OpenAI may keep a deleted chat longer when security or legal obligations require it. A chat that was already de-identified and separated from your account also falls outside the normal schedule.
Saved and archived chats don't expire on their own. They stay in your account until you delete them or a workspace retention policy removes them. Archiving doesn't change that.
Work accounts have extra rules. In a work or school workspace, your organization's retention policy applies, and your organization's approved compliance tools may still be able to retrieve eligible workspace data after you delete a chat.
Shared projects. In a project someone shared with you, you can archive or delete the chats you started yourself. Deleting a project's files or the project itself follows the same 30-day schedule.

If it doesn't work

A deleted chat still shows in search. Search can take a little while to catch up. Opening a stale result won't bring the chat back, so give it some time.
You can't find the chat you want to delete. Make sure you're in the right account and workspace, including the same email or single sign-on method. Then try Search and your archived chats.
ChatGPT still seems to know what was in a deleted chat. The detail may live on in a saved memory, another chat, a Library file or a connected app. Remove it from those places too.
You deleted the wrong chat. It can't be recovered, either in the app or through Support. If you made an export before deleting it, look for the conversation in that file.

Keeping the chats you do want

If you're deleting because a crowded sidebar buries the conversations that matter, a different setup may help. Workbranch is a separate AI workspace, with answers from Google Gemini, where chats sit in an inbox by day and in color-coded project folders you can flag, pin and search with ⌘K. There's a 3-day free trial.

Sources

Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Chat and file retention in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
How can I delete a conversation in the ChatGPT iOS app? (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
How can I delete a chat conversation in the ChatGPT Android app? (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Sharing conversations and scheduled tasks in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Memory in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Using Library to manage files in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Projects in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Data controls in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)
Finding your chats, projects, and files in ChatGPT (OpenAI Help Center, checked 15 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions

Does turning off "Improve the model for everyone" delete my chats?

No. That setting only decides whether new conversations can be used to train OpenAI's models. Your saved chats stay in your history until you delete them yourself.

What happens to temporary chats?

A temporary chat never shows up in your history unless you choose to save it, so there's nothing to delete from the sidebar. OpenAI says it may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety reasons. If you do save it, it becomes a regular chat and you delete it like any other.

Is archiving the same as deleting?

No. Archiving only hides a chat from the sidebar. The conversation stays in your account, still shows up in search, and is kept for as long as any other saved chat. You can unarchive it later from Settings, under Data controls.