8 ChatGPT Settings and Security Practices You Should Review in 2026
Protect your conversations, memories, files and account by reviewing these important ChatGPT privacy and security controls.
ChatGPT has become an essential tool for millions of people around the world. Students use it for learning, developers use it for programming, businesses use it for productivity, and content creators use it to generate ideas and create content.
However, the more we use AI assistants, the more important it becomes to understand how our conversations, memories, shared links, files, connected services and account security are managed.
You don't need to stop using ChatGPT to protect your privacy. Instead, take a few minutes to review the available privacy and security controls and adopt a few simple security habits.
Here are 8 important ChatGPT settings and security practices you should review in 2026.
📋 Quick Navigation
1 Review Data Controls
One of the first settings you should check is Data Controls.
Depending on your account and plan, ChatGPT provides controls related to how your content may be used to improve OpenAI's models.
On the web, OpenAI currently provides an "Improve the model for everyone" setting. If you turn it off, your conversations can remain in your chat history but won't be used to improve ChatGPT's models.
💡 Why Does This Matter?
Many people use ChatGPT for work, programming, business planning, research and personal tasks. Before sharing information, it is important to understand the data controls available on your account.
2 Review and Manage ChatGPT Memory
ChatGPT can use Memory to remember useful context from your conversations and other supported sources to provide more personalized responses.
Depending on the features available on your account, you can review, edit, delete memories or turn Memory off.
⚠️ Important Distinction
Deleting a conversation and deleting a saved memory are not necessarily the same thing.
Saved memories are managed separately from your chat history. Therefore, if you want ChatGPT to forget a specific saved memory, manage that memory rather than relying only on deleting the conversation.
🔎 Privacy Habit
Periodically review your Memory settings and remove information that you no longer want ChatGPT to use for personalization.
3 Use Temporary Chat for Sensitive Conversations
Temporary Chat can be useful when you don't want a conversation to appear in your normal chat history or create memories.
It can be useful for one-off questions or conversations that you don't want associated with your regular ChatGPT activity.
When Should You Use Temporary Chat?
- For one-time questions.
- When you don't want the conversation in your normal history.
- When you don't want the conversation to create memories.
- For conversations that don't need to become part of your regular ChatGPT activity.
5 Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
A strong password is important, but it shouldn't be your only line of defense.
ChatGPT supports additional account security features, including multi-factor authentication for supported accounts.
MFA adds an additional verification step when signing in, helping protect your account if your password is compromised.
🔐 Why Is MFA Important?
- Personal conversations
- Work-related information
- Uploaded files
- Custom instructions
- Memories
- Connected services
- Private projects
If you believe someone may have accessed your account, review your account security and change your password as appropriate. Don't rely on MFA alone to resolve a compromised account.
6 Protect the Device You Use to Access ChatGPT
Privacy doesn't stop at your ChatGPT account.
If someone can access your unlocked computer or smartphone, they may be able to access your conversations even if your online account is secure.
🛡️ Protect Your Device With:
- A strong device password or PIN
- Fingerprint authentication
- Face recognition
- Automatic screen locking
- Updated operating system software
- Updated browser software
If you use ChatGPT on a shared or public computer, always sign out when you are finished.
Remember
Account security and device security work together. A well-protected online account can still be exposed if someone has physical access to an unlocked device.
7 Regularly Review Your Chat History
Over time, your ChatGPT account can accumulate hundreds or even thousands of conversations.
Some may contain information that you no longer need. Take some time to review your chat history and delete conversations that are no longer useful.
Think of Privacy Management as Several Layers:
Chat History
Memory
Data Controls
Account Security
Each layer serves a different purpose. Regularly reviewing your account can help you maintain better control over your digital information.
8 Don't Upload Highly Sensitive Information Unless Necessary
Perhaps the most important security practice is also the simplest:
🔑 Don't upload highly sensitive information unless you genuinely need to.
Before uploading a document, ask yourself:
"Does ChatGPT really need this exact information to answer my question?"
🚫 Avoid Sharing:
- Passwords
- API keys
- Credit card numbers
- Banking credentials
- Passport numbers
- Identity documents
- Private encryption keys
- Confidential company documents
- Customer databases
- Highly sensitive personal information
💻 A Simple Example
Instead of uploading a document containing a real API key:
Replace the sensitive information with a placeholder:
You can then ask ChatGPT to help write or debug the code without exposing the real secret.
🔌 Bonus Tip: Review Connected Apps and External Services
Modern ChatGPT features can work with external applications and services. These integrations can be extremely useful, but you should understand what information a connected service can access and what permissions you are granting.
Before Connecting a Service, Ask:
- What information can it access?
- What permissions does it require?
- Do I really need this connection?
- Can I disconnect it later?
- Is the service trustworthy?
Only connect services that you actually need and periodically review connections that you no longer use.
🛡️ Bonus Security Feature: Lockdown Mode
Advanced Protection Against Prompt Injection Risks
In 2026, OpenAI introduced Lockdown Mode as an optional advanced security setting for logged-in ChatGPT users.
When enabled, Lockdown Mode limits access to certain network-enabled capabilities, including web browsing, deep research, agent mode and some other external capabilities.
The feature is designed to reduce the risk of sensitive information being exfiltrated through certain prompt-injection attacks.
Personal users can access it from:
Because Lockdown Mode restricts functionality, it is best understood as an advanced security option rather than a setting that every user must enable permanently.
✅ Simple ChatGPT Privacy Checklist
Before using ChatGPT for important work, consider reviewing these areas:
You don't necessarily need to disable every feature. The goal is to understand what each feature does and choose the settings that match your privacy and security needs.
💭 Final Thoughts
ChatGPT can be an incredibly useful tool for learning, programming, business, research and content creation. But like any online service, it should be used responsibly.
The best approach isn't to avoid AI tools completely. Instead, develop good digital security habits.
Review your privacy settings, manage your memories, use multi-factor authentication where available, be careful with shared links and avoid uploading highly sensitive information unless absolutely necessary.
🔐 The Golden Rule
If you wouldn't normally share sensitive information with an online service, don't paste it into an AI assistant without a good reason.
A few minutes spent reviewing your ChatGPT privacy and security settings today can help you maintain better control over your digital information tomorrow.
🔐 Review Your ChatGPT Security Today
Take a few minutes to review your privacy, memory and security settings.
🔍 Open ChatGPT Settings