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Fact check: What is ChatGPT's data retention policy for inactive users?
Executive Summary
OpenAI’s public materials and recent reporting show a mixed but converging picture: ChatGPT retains active chat history indefinitely by default, temporary or deleted conversations are purged within about 30 days, and account deletions trigger a 30‑day removal window subject to legal holds. Court actions earlier in October 2025 temporarily required broader preservation of logs but were lifted, leaving targeted preservation only where legal process demands it. The practical effect for an inactive user depends on whether they delete conversations or their account, and whether legal holds apply [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Why this question matters now — courtroom rulings shifted preservation rules
Recent court proceedings changed how long OpenAI was forced to preserve ChatGPT logs, creating confusion about retention for inactive users. A judge required OpenAI to preserve logs for litigation, but that preservation order was lifted in October 2025, meaning OpenAI no longer must indefinitely store deleted or temporary chats except where specific legal holds remain in place [4] [5]. The lifting of the order signals a return toward OpenAI’s default retention practices, but the articles stress that some data tied to accounts flagged in litigation may persist, so the landscape differs between ordinary inactive users and those subject to legal proceedings [5].
2. What OpenAI’s Help Center says about temporary chats and model training
OpenAI’s own documentation distinguishes Temporary Chats, which are deleted after 30 days and are not used to train models, from standard saved history which remains until user deletion. The Help Center guidance emphasizes user-facing controls — users can delete conversations and opt out of model training — and clarifies that deleted temporary chats are generally removed on a 30‑day cadence [1]. This indicates that for users who do not actively delete content, default history may persist, while temporary or explicitly deleted content is designed to be purged within roughly a month under normal circumstances [1] [3].
3. Account deletion promises a 30-day removal window, with exceptions
Multiple help and guidance pieces state that when a user deletes their account, OpenAI will delete the account and associated data within 30 days, though legal or regulatory requirements can extend retention. User-facing guides reiterate that deletion is intended to be permanent and irreversible after that period, and they advise downloading data and canceling subscriptions before initiating deletion [3] [6] [7]. The deletion mechanism thus offers a clear path for inactive users who want complete removal, but legal holds remain an overriding exception to the 30‑day timeline [3].
4. Journalistic accounts highlight practical exceptions and preserved datasets
Reporting on the court saga notes that although the broad preservation order was lifted, OpenAI had previously been compelled to retain extensive logs, and some preserved data remains accessible to litigants; this means retrospective copies of chats could still exist if they were captured under the court order [4] [5]. Journalists framed the lifting as a victory for OpenAI’s privacy and operational concerns, but they also underscore that targeted preservation tied to ongoing lawsuits can leave traces of user data even after deletion or account removal [4].
5. Contrasting official guidance and secondary guides — clarity versus simplification
Official OpenAI pages provide specific legal caveats, while third‑party guides simplify the user experience: both sets agree on a 30‑day deletion window, but third‑party tutorials emphasize permanence and irreversibility more bluntly than help‑center language does [3] [6] [7]. This difference reflects divergent agendas: OpenAI balances transparency with legal caveats and product nuance, whereas independent guides aim for actionable simplicity for users wanting to erase accounts. The result is consistent core claims but different emphasis on exceptions and user steps [3] [7].
6. What this means for inactive users who do nothing
If an account is merely inactive and the user does not delete conversations or the account, default behavior appears to be continued retention of saved history, per OpenAI’s updated policy framing; deleted or temporary chats are purged within 30 days, but inactivity alone does not trigger automatic deletion [2] [1]. Therefore, inactive users concerned about lingering data must proactively delete conversations or the account to invoke the 30‑day purge, while recognizing that legal holds can override deletion timelines [2] [3].
7. Open questions and practical steps users should know
The reporting and help articles leave unresolved operational details such as how “inactive” is defined and how long certain backend backups persist beyond user‑visible deletion; those gaps matter because preservation orders and internal backups can create longer retention than user‑facing promises [4] [5]. Users seeking maximum privacy should download needed data, delete conversations and accounts to trigger the 30‑day removal window, and monitor legal developments; those steps align with the combined advice in official and third‑party materials [3] [6] [7].
8. Bottom line: default retention, 30‑day purge on deletion, legal exceptions govern the rest
Synthesizing help‑center documentation and reporting through October 2025, the clear pattern is that OpenAI retains active chat history unless users delete it, deleted content is purged within ~30 days, and court or legal holds can preserve data longer. The October 2025 lifting of a blanket preservation order narrowed mandatory retention, but targeted legal preservation continues to be the exception that can affect individual inactive users’ data [1] [4] [3].