To clear remembered information in ChatGPT, open Settings → Personalization → Memory. If your account shows a Memory summary, open its ••• menu and select Delete and turn off memory. OpenAI says this deletes the remembered information shown in the summary and turns Memory off; it does not delete past chats. The settings and labels can vary by plan, region, platform, and workspace. OpenAI’s Memory guide describes the available controls. (help.openai.com)
Clear saved memories
- In ChatGPT, open Settings.
- Select Personalization, then Memory.
- If you see a Memory summary, open the ••• menu and select Delete and turn off memory.
- Confirm if ChatGPT asks you to.
That option combines two actions: deleting remembered information shown in the summary and turning Memory off. If your Memory settings instead show Manage or Saved memories, use the controls available there to review or remove entries. OpenAI notes that controls vary, so you may not see the same layout or every setting. (help.openai.com)
Important: A memory summary is not a complete inventory of every detail or source Memory may use. OpenAI says that to fully remove information ChatGPT may know about you, you may also need to delete other sources where it appears, such as past or archived chats, files, or connected apps. (help.openai.com)
What clearing memory does—and does not do
- It clears remembered information shown in the summary and turns Memory off when you choose Delete and turn off memory. (
help.openai.com) - It does not delete your chats. To remove conversations too, go to Settings → Data controls → Delete all chats, review the confirmation, and continue. OpenAI says deleting all chats cannot be undone. (
help.openai.com) - Deleting chats and clearing memory are separate tasks. OpenAI notes that deleting a chat does not automatically delete a memory saved from it. (
help.openai.com) - Turning Memory off is not the same as deleting past chats. If you turn Memory back on later, ChatGPT may create new remembered information from chats that remain in your history. (
help.openai.com)
Choose the action for your goal
| Your goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Remove remembered information and stop Memory | In Settings → Personalization → Memory, choose Delete and turn off memory if that option appears. |
| Remove chats as well | Separately use Settings → Data controls → Delete all chats and confirm. This is irreversible. |
| Remove a detail wherever it may still exist | Check the memory controls and also review relevant chats, archived chats, files, and connected apps. Removing one source does not necessarily remove the others. |
Check what ChatGPT remembers
Open Settings → Personalization → Memory and review the memory controls or summary available to your account. You can also ask ChatGPT, “What do you remember about me?”—but OpenAI cautions that the summary does not necessarily show every detail or source. Use the settings and source controls rather than treating a chat response as proof that all information has been found or deleted. (help.openai.com)
If you delete chats as part of a broader cleanup, OpenAI says they are removed from your account view immediately and scheduled for permanent deletion from its systems within 30 days, subject to stated legal, security, and de-identification exceptions. That timing applies to deleted chats; do not assume it describes every memory or data type. (help.openai.com)
Does this clear memory in a production API app?
No ChatGPT account setting is documented as a control for memory in your production API application. ChatGPT’s Settings → Personalization → Memory instructions concern the ChatGPT product, not a developer’s application. OpenAI’s API data documentation separately says API use may involve abuse-monitoring logs and feature-specific application state. Therefore, treat your API app’s conversation history and any state it stores as a separate system to manage; the exact handling depends on the API feature you use. (help.openai.com)
OpenAI says API inputs and outputs are not used to train or improve its models by default unless an organization opts in. Separately, its API documentation says abuse-monitoring logs are generally retained for up to 30 days, with exceptions, and that approved eligible customers can apply for Modified Abuse Monitoring or Zero Data Retention controls. These are API data controls—not ChatGPT memory-clearing instructions—and some API features may still store application state. (help.openai.com)
In short
For ChatGPT, go to Settings → Personalization → Memory and choose Delete and turn off memory if your account offers it. Delete chats separately if you want those removed too, and review other sources if your goal is to remove a detail wherever it appears. These consumer ChatGPT steps do not establish how a production API app stores or deletes its own state.
Sources
Memory in ChatGPT — OpenAI Help Center
Memory FAQ — OpenAI Help Center
Deleting and archiving chats in ChatGPT — OpenAI Help Center
Data controls in the OpenAI platform — OpenAI Help Center
Sharing feedback, evaluation and fine-tuning data, and API inputs and outputs with OpenAI