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ChatGPT Dots memory: what it remembers and how to wipe it

A dot remembers with three things: the conversation, its own notes and ChatGPT memory. See where each fact lands, what you can view, and how to delete it.

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Your dot remembers with three things: the conversation it's in, its own notes about you, and ChatGPT memory. You can read the conversation and manage ChatGPT memory. The notes have no screen, and the only way to clear them is to delete your dot.

#What does your dot remember with?

Start with the map. Your dot's notes sit in the middle, and three things feed them.

This conversationYour connected appsIts own notesChatGPT memorywhat mattersread without askingshared both waysno screen shows theseThisconversationYour connectedappsIts own notesChatGPTmemorywhat mattersread without askingshared both waysno screen shows these
  • This conversation is what your dot has in front of it for a reply or a job. You can scroll back through it.
  • Its own notes hold the preferences, decisions and ongoing work it chose to keep. They aren't a full transcript, and you can't open them.
  • ChatGPT memory is what regular ChatGPT remembers about you. You manage it in ChatGPT's settings, under Personalization.

#Where does this get remembered?

Where a fact lands depends on how your dot came across it. Pick one and watch the map.

Where does this get remembered?

Pick something your dot learns. The place that holds it lights up, and you'll see who else can use it and how to get rid of it.

Your dot learns that...
keepssharedConversationIts notesChatGPT memorykeepssharedConversationIts notesChatGPTmemory

You tell it: "I prefer morning meetings"

Kept in
Your dot's notes. A preference is what the notes are for. What you tell your dot can also add to ChatGPT memory.
Who uses it
Your dot, wherever you reach it: ChatGPT, Slack or a call. Regular ChatGPT chats too, if the preference reached ChatGPT memory.
Can you see it?
Not in the notes. If it reached ChatGPT memory, it shows up there.
To remove it
From ChatGPT memory: delete it in ChatGPT's memory settings. From the notes: only by deleting your dot.

It reads in Drive: "the Q4 deck is in Finance"

Kept in
Your dot's notes. Your dot reads connected apps without being asked, and can save what it finds.
Who uses it
Your dot, in later conversations and jobs.
Can you see it?
No. Ask your dot what it knows about the deck and it will tell you in words.
To remove it
Disconnecting Drive stops new reading. It leaves what your dot already saved. Only deleting your dot removes that.

ChatGPT already knows: "you're vegetarian"

Kept in
ChatGPT memory. Your dot starts with the relevant parts of it.
Who uses it
Regular ChatGPT chats and your dot.
Can you see it?
Yes, in ChatGPT's memory settings.
To remove it
Manage it in ChatGPT's memory settings. A change there doesn't necessarily change notes your dot has already made.

You say: "use the attached sheet for this report"

Kept in
This conversation. It's context for the reply or the job in front of your dot.
Who uses it
Your dot, for this job. A task it hands to Work or Codex gets the instructions and context for that job, not your whole history.
Can you see it?
Yes. Scroll up: it is in the conversation.
To remove it
Deleting your dot deletes its conversation. The notes aren't a full transcript, so a one-off detail like this may never reach them.

You mention a deadline in a Slack DM

Kept in
Your dot's notes. Slack and ChatGPT reach the same dot, with the same notes.
Who uses it
Your dot, in every channel. It can use the deadline to prepare an update in ChatGPT.
Can you see it?
The Slack message stays in Slack. It isn't copied into your ChatGPT conversation.
To remove it
Only by deleting your dot. Using the deadline is allowed. Posting it in a team channel still needs your permission.

You type a password into its sign-in form

Kept in
Nowhere in its memory. Your dot's saved context doesn't keep credentials.
Who uses it
The website you signed in to. Your dot's browser stays signed in until you sign out or the site ends the session.
Can you see it?
There is nothing to see.
To remove it
Nothing to remove. One caution: this covers the sign-in form. A password pasted into the chat is an ordinary message.

You send it a screenshot

Kept in
Nowhere in its memory. Your dot's saved context doesn't keep images or screenshots.
Who uses it
Your dot, while it works on what you sent.
Can you see it?
The message you sent is still in the conversation.
To remove it
Nothing in the notes to remove. Files your dot makes live where they were saved and follow that place's rules.
Seven things a dot can learn, and where each one ends up. Open on its own page

#See what your dot knows

The notes have no screen, so the way in is to ask. This dot was asked "do you have all my memories?":

  1. A new dot starts with a summary of what ChatGPT has learned about you, so it knows you on day one.
Image: The AI Advantage

Ask yours the fuller version:

PromptAsk your dot what it knows
What do you know about me right now? List it by where it came from: this conversation, ChatGPT memory, my connected apps, and your own notes. Flag anything that might be out of date.

When something in the answer is wrong, say so: "I've moved to Lisbon, update what you know." Your dot revises its notes as your decisions and priorities change.

#What does each switch do?

Three actions sound like "forget this". Each one stops something narrower.

You do this It stops It leaves in place
Turn off Memory in ChatGPT Sharing between ChatGPT memory and your dot, in both directions Everything your dot already received, and the notes it made
Disconnect an app New reading through that connection What your dot already saved from the app
Delete your dot The dot, its conversation, its notes and its scheduled tasks ChatGPT memory from your other chats, and the files and threads your dot created

#Wipe your dot's memory

So the one way to clear the notes is the last row: delete your dot. It can't be undone, so save any results you need first.

  1. Open your dot's conversation and click ... at the top right. In the desktop app, ... is in the title bar. On a phone, tap your dot's picture at the top of the conversation.
  2. Click Delete, the red item at the bottom.
  3. Read the confirmation, which says what happens to your conversations, memories and scheduled tasks. Then confirm.
The dot menu, opened from the three dots: Rename, Pause, Reboot, and Delete in red with a bin icon
Image: Leon van Zyl

You land in a new ChatGPT chat with no dot, and you can create a new one on a computer.

#Check you've got it

One sort before you delete anything.

Sort it

You delete your dot. Sort each thing: gone, or still there?

  • A spreadsheet your dot madeFiles it created are stored separately.
  • What ChatGPT remembers from your other chatsChatGPT memory is separate. Manage it in ChatGPT's memory settings.
  • A Codex thread it startedWork and Codex threads it created are stored separately.
  • Your dot's notes about youDeleting your dot deletes its own context.
  • Your conversation with your dotIt goes with the dot.
  • The Monday report it runs every weekScheduled tasks are deleted too.

Gone

    Still there

      Show the answer

      Gone: Your dot's notes about you (Deleting your dot deletes its own context.); Your conversation with your dot (It goes with the dot.); The Monday report it runs every week (Scheduled tasks are deleted too.)

      Still there: What ChatGPT remembers from your other chats (ChatGPT memory is separate. Manage it in ChatGPT's memory settings.); A spreadsheet your dot made (Files it created are stored separately.); A Codex thread it started (Work and Codex threads it created are stored separately.)

      #Next step

      You've finished the lessons. Pick a job to hand over.

      Why does my dot know things from my old ChatGPT chats?

      ChatGPT shares with it. Your dot receives saved memories and recent conversation context from ChatGPT, so a new dot already knows the outline of what ChatGPT has learned about you. To stop the sharing, turn off Memory in ChatGPT's settings.

      Will a new dot remember me after I delete the old one?

      Partly. The old dot's notes are gone. ChatGPT memory is still there, and a new dot starts with the relevant parts of it, unless you've turned Memory off.

      Does my dot remember my passwords?

      No. Its saved context doesn't keep credentials, images or screenshots. That covers the sign-in form your dot shows you. A password pasted into the chat is an ordinary message, so don't paste one. See the cloud computer.

      Is my dot's memory used to train OpenAI's models?

      That depends on your plan and your data controls. Privacy and security covers it.

      1. Rebuilt as a lesson, with a tool for where each kind of fact is kept.
      2. First published.

      That is the last step on this path.

      Sources

      7
      1. OpenAI docs: Tasks and memory learn.chatgpt.com
      2. OpenAI Help Center: Dots privacy, security, and safety FAQs help.openai.com
      3. OpenAI Help Center: Getting started with your dot help.openai.com
      4. OpenAI docs: Control your dot (delete your dot) learn.chatgpt.com
      5. OpenAI docs: Meet dots learn.chatgpt.com
      6. The AI Advantage on YouTube: screenshot of a dot describing what it remembers youtube.com
      7. Leon van Zyl on YouTube: screenshot of the dot menu youtube.com