ChatGPT Memory Guide: Turn Off, Edit, Delete (2026)

ChatGPT memory lets the assistant remember things about you, like your job, your writing style or your diet, so you do not have to repeat yourself in every chat.

In June 2026 OpenAI rebuilt memory around a new “dreaming” system and a Memory summary page, so many older guides now show menus that no longer exist.

This guide explains how memory works today, how to turn it on or off, how to view, fix and delete what ChatGPT knows, and how Temporary Chat, Projects, plans and privacy settings fit in.

TLDR

Memory has two parts: saved memories (facts you or ChatGPT stored) and reference chat history (relevant details pulled from past chats).
Since June 4, 2026, a background process called dreaming keeps memory up to date and shows it on a Memory summary page. Plus and Pro got double the memory capacity.
Find everything in Settings > Personalization > Memory. Use Manage to review the summary, correct details, or delete and turn memory off.
Deleting a chat does not delete a memory made from it. Delete both if you want something gone.
Temporary Chat never creates or updates memories. You choose Personalized or Unpersonalized before the first message.
Projects can use default memory or project-only memory. Shared projects are always project-only.
Memory and model training are separate. Training is controlled in Settings > Data controls > Improve the model for everyone.

How ChatGPT Memory Works

OpenAI’s help center describes two memory settings that work together. It helps to think of them as two layers.

Saved memories

Saved memories are details that are stored separately from your chats. You can create one on purpose by saying something like “Remember that I am vegetarian” or “Save this to memory: I write in British English.” ChatGPT can also save useful details on its own.

When it does, you may see a small “Memory updated” note in the chat.

Reference chat history

Reference chat history lets ChatGPT look at relevant information from your past conversations, even if nothing was saved as a memory. OpenAI first added this in April 2025 and brought it to Free users in June 2025. The help center says there is no separate storage limit for chat history reference.

Dreaming and the Memory summary

On June 4, 2026, OpenAI started rolling out a new memory architecture that it calls “a significantly more capable and compute-efficient memory architecture built on top of dreaming.” Dreaming is a background process.

After your chats, it pulls together useful context, follows your stated preferences, and updates details as time passes. OpenAI’s example: “you’re going to Singapore in July” later becomes “you went to Singapore in July 2026.”

The result shows up on a Memory summary page. There you can see the highlights of what ChatGPT knows, add or update information, and tell it which topics to bring up.

OpenAI is clear that the summary “does not necessarily include every detail” that memory can use. If you prefer the old system, you can switch back to the legacy saved memories list in settings.

Layer	What it holds	Can you see it?	How to remove it
Saved memories	Facts you asked it to remember, or details it saved	Yes, in the Memory summary or the legacy list	Delete the memory and the chat it came from
Reference chat history	Relevant details from past chats	Partly, through the summary and sources	Turn it off (deleted within 30 days) or delete chats
Custom instructions	Rules you typed yourself	Yes, in Personalization	Edit or clear the text
Library files and connected apps	Files and app data on some plans	Yes, in Library and Apps	Delete files or disconnect apps

Recent Memory Changes in 2026

Memory has changed more this year than in any year before. Here is the timeline so you know which guides are out of date.

June 4, 2026: Dreaming-based memory and the Memory summary roll out to Plus and Pro users in the US first, with double the memory capacity. OpenAI said Free users would get dreaming-based memory “over the coming weeks,” after cutting the compute needed by about 5x.
June 2026: You can now turn memory off directly from the Memory summary page with “Delete and turn off memory.”
August 14, 2026: Eligible unshared Projects can switch between default memory and project-only memory after creation.
August 27, 2026: Temporary Chat gets two modes, Personalized and Unpersonalized, chosen before the first message.
October 30, 2026: Mobile account switching arrives. Each of your two signed-in accounts keeps its own memory.

The ChatGPT release notes from mid October to early November 2026 show no further change to how memory itself works.

How to Turn Memory On and Off

Memory is on by default for most personal accounts. Here is how to change it on the web or the desktop app. The mobile app uses the same menu names under your profile.

Click your profile picture or name, then open Settings.
Select Personalization.
Open the Memory section.
To stop ChatGPT using stored facts, turn off Reference saved memories. On some accounts this switch is labelled Enable ChatGPT memory. Turning off saved memories also turns off chat history reference.
To keep saved memories but stop it from reading past chats, turn off Reference chat history only.
Start a new chat to see the change.

Two important points. First, turning memory off does not delete what is already saved. It only stops ChatGPT from using it. Second, if you turn off chat history reference, OpenAI schedules the information it remembered from past chats for deletion within 30 days. Your actual chats stay in your history.

Note: OpenAI also notes that memory features “can vary by plan, region, platform, and workspace settings.” If you do not see a switch described here, it may not have reached your account yet.

How to View, Edit and Delete Memories

View what ChatGPT remembers

Go to Settings > Personalization > Memory.
Click Manage next to Memory summary.
Read the summary. It shows an “Updated” time and sections about you. It may take a moment to show “Generating” after recent changes.
To see the old item-by-item list, open the saved memories link. There you can search memories and use the three-dot menu on each one.

Tip: You can also just ask in a chat: “What do you remember about me?” This is a quick check, but the settings page is the more reliable view.

Edit or correct a memory

On the Memory summary, type a correction such as “I moved from Delhi to Pune” and let the summary update.
In any chat, say “Update your memory: I now work as a data analyst.”
To stop a topic from coming up, choose Don’t mention this again. This reduces future references but does not delete the source.

Delete one memory

Open the saved memories list from Settings > Personalization > Memory.
Find the memory and open its More options (three-dot) menu.
Choose Delete, then confirm in the “Delete this memory?” box.
Find the chat where you first shared that detail and delete it too. OpenAI says deleting a chat alone “does not necessarily delete a separate saved memory,” and deleting a memory does not remove it from past chats.

Delete everything and turn memory off

Open the Memory summary with Manage.
Click the three-dot menu and choose Delete and turn off memory.
Confirm. This clears the remembered information shown on the summary and switches memory off. It does not delete your past chats.
For a full clean-up, also delete or archive old chats, remove files in Library, and disconnect apps you no longer use.

OpenAI may keep logs of deleted saved memories for up to 30 days for safety and debugging. Changes can also take a little time to spread across your devices.

Temporary Chat

Temporary Chat is the private-mode option. It is perfect for one-off questions you do not want shaping future answers, such as a surprise gift idea or a sensitive health question.

Start a new chat.
Click the Temporary icon near the top of the chat window.
Pick Personalized (the chat can use your memory, plugins and custom instructions) or Unpersonalized (it ignores all of them).
Send your first message. You cannot change the mode after the chat starts.

In both modes, a temporary chat does not create or update memories and does not appear in your chat history. OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes. If you choose to save a temporary chat, it becomes a regular chat.

Memory in Projects

Projects group chats, files and instructions around one topic. Each project has one of two memory modes.

Mode	What it can use	Best for
Default memory	Your account-wide saved memories and chat history, plus the project’s own chats and files	Personal projects where your general preferences help
Project-only memory	Only chats and files inside the project. Nothing learned there leaks into your main memory	Client work, a book, a shared team project, or anything you want kept separate

To change it:

Open the project and click its three-dot menu.
Choose Project settings.
Under Memory, pick Default or Project-only. You can also choose this when you create the project.
Wait. OpenAI says a switch can take several hours to take full effect.

Warning: Since August 14, 2026, eligible unshared projects can switch both ways. Shared projects always use project-only memory and cannot go back to default, so decide before you share. Project instructions still apply in either mode.

Memory Limits by Plan

OpenAI does not publish an exact number of memories per plan. Here is what is documented.

Plan	Memory features	Capacity	Default
Free	Saved memories, chat history reference, Memory summary as dreaming rolls out	Standard capacity	On
Go	Same as Free, with higher usage limits overall	Standard capacity	On
Plus	Dreaming memory, Memory summary, Library files and some connected apps as sources where available	Doubled in June 2026	On
Pro	Same as Plus	Doubled in June 2026	On
Business, Enterprise, Edu	Managed by workspace admins	Set by workspace	Depends on admin settings

If you use the legacy saved memories list and it fills up, you will see “Memory is full.” New memories then stop saving until you delete some. Dreaming-based memory instead keeps the details it decides matter most, so this message is less common now.

Chat history reference has no separate storage limit. For prices and other plan limits, see my ChatGPT Free vs Go vs Plus vs Pro comparison.

A note for Europe: when chat history reference first launched in 2025, it was off by default in some European regions. Check your switches rather than assuming.

Privacy and Training Settings

Memory and model training are two different things, and many people mix them up.

Memory decides whether ChatGPT uses your details to personalize your own answers.
Training decides whether OpenAI can use your content to improve future models.

Turning memory off does not stop training, and turning training off does not stop memory. To control training:

Open Settings > Data controls.
Find Improve the model for everyone.
Switch it off if you do not want your chats used for training.

On Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, OpenAI says it does not train on your content by default. Some regulated workspaces also keep improved memory off by default.

A few more privacy facts worth knowing:

When you share a chat with a link, memory sources are not included in the shared view.
If you have two accounts signed in on your phone, each one has its own memory. Nothing is shared between them.
Locked chats, added in October 2026, hide chats behind a PIN but do not change your retention or training settings.
Do not store passwords, bank details or ID numbers in memory. ChatGPT is told to avoid saving sensitive details unless you ask, but the safest choice is not to share them at all.

Tips for Getting Better Memory

Be explicit. Start with “Remember that…” for anything that must stick.
Use custom instructions for rules. Standing rules like “always answer in bullet points” work better in custom instructions than in memory.
Review the summary monthly. Remove old jobs, past trips and anything wrong.
Use project-only memory for client work. It keeps one client’s details out of another client’s answers.
Use Temporary Chat for experiments. Try odd prompts there so they do not shape your profile.

If you are comparing assistants, memory works differently in each one. My ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok comparison covers the bigger picture.

Troubleshooting

ChatGPT still remembers something I deleted

The detail probably also lives in a past chat, and chat history reference picked it up. Delete that chat, or turn off Reference chat history. Remember that deletion can take a little time.

ChatGPT says “Memory updated” but forgets later

Your legacy memory list may be full. Delete old items or merge duplicates. Also check that you are in the same account and not in a Temporary Chat.

I cannot find the Memory summary

Dreaming-based memory rolled out in stages by country and plan. Update your app, check Settings > Personalization, and look for a legacy option. Work accounts may have memory disabled by an admin.

Memory is mixing two different topics

Move that work into a project with project-only memory, and use “Don’t mention this again” on the summary for the wrong topic.

Settings will not save or the page will not load

Try a hard refresh, sign out and back in, or try another browser. My ChatGPT not working fix guide covers more fixes.

FAQ

Is ChatGPT memory on by default?

Yes, for most personal Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts. In work plans, the admin decides. You can check it any time in Settings, then Personalization, then Memory.

Does turning off memory delete my memories?

No. Turning a switch off only stops ChatGPT using them. To delete, use the delete option on a memory or choose “Delete and turn off memory” on the Memory summary.

Does deleting a chat delete the memory it created?

Not necessarily. Saved memories are stored separately. Delete the memory itself and the chat where you shared the detail.

Does Temporary Chat use my memory?

Only if you pick Personalized before the first message. Either way, it never creates or updates memories and does not appear in your history.

How many memories can ChatGPT store?

OpenAI does not publish a number. Plus and Pro capacity doubled in June 2026, and chat history reference has no separate storage limit.

Can I go back to the old memory list?

Yes. OpenAI lets you switch back to legacy saved memories in settings without losing your chat history.

Is my memory used to train OpenAI’s models?

Memory and training are separate settings. To stop training on your content, turn off Improve the model for everyone in Data controls. Business, Enterprise and Edu content is not used for training by default.

ChatGPT Memory Guide: Turn It On or Off, Edit, Delete and Temporary Chat