How long does OpenAI keep conversation logs before permanent deletion?
Executive summary
OpenAI’s public materials and reporting show standard user-deleted ChatGPT conversations and Temporary Chats are automatically deleted within 30 days under its stated policies, with internal backups possibly retaining data up to an extra 30 days (OpenAI help pages) — but a 2025 U.S. court preservation order forced OpenAI to retain at least some “output log data” from April–September 2025 and to preserve other logs while litigation proceeded, creating an exception to normal deletion routines [1] [2] [3].
1. What OpenAI’s published retention rules say in normal operation
OpenAI’s help documentation states that deleted ChatGPT conversations and Temporary Chats are automatically deleted from systems within 30 days under its standard data retention practices, and that when a conversation or file reaches its configured retention period it becomes unavailable via the Compliance API while internal backups may retain it for up to 30 additional days [1] [2]. The Data Controls FAQ separately emphasizes that conversations can remain visible in chat history but may be excluded from training pipelines when users opt out [4].
2. How litigation changed the practical rulebook in 2025
In mid‑2025, a federal preservation order in The New York Times v. Microsoft et al. required OpenAI to “retain and segregate all output log data that would otherwise be deleted,” prompting OpenAI to pause or alter standard deletions for affected date ranges and classes of data and to warn users about the privacy implications of court‑ordered preservation [5] [3]. OpenAI’s public response said it would securely store limited historical April–September 2025 user data and that its prior obligations under the earlier order ended Sept. 26, 2025, after which OpenAI said it returned to standard retention practices for most new data [1].
3. What “retention” actually covered in reporting and legal commentary
Legal commentary and reporting emphasize that “logs” include more than chat transcripts — metadata, outputs, and deleted-content backups can be implicated — and that even conversations deleted from a user dashboard could be preserved under the order [6] [3]. Analysts and law firms warned organizations that the preservation order could conflict with privacy commitments and complicate compliance with other data‑deletion obligations [3].
4. Differences by product and customer control
OpenAI’s API customers control retention for the content they send to API endpoints; OpenAI’s standard statement is that after 30 days API inputs and outputs are removed from OpenAI logs unless legal requirements apply, and some enterprise/“Zero Data Retention” endpoints never log inputs/outputs [1]. Community and vendor reporting also shows Azure/OpenAI and enterprise offerings have distinct retention language, so retention can vary by platform and contractual terms [7].
5. Conflicting or alarmist interpretations in the marketplace
Industry blogs and advocacy pieces have presented competing takes: some outlets portrayed the court order as forcing indefinite, blanket retention of all ChatGPT chats (calling it a “privacy nightmare” and warning deleted conversations could be archived long term), while OpenAI and other reporting framed the change as a targeted, legally compelled preservation for a specific timeframe and set of logs — not a wholesale rewrite of all retention policies for all users going forward [6] [1] [8]. Independent summaries urged customers to avoid sharing sensitive data until litigation resolved and to consider contractual protections [3] [9].
6. Practical takeaways for users and organizations
If you are an individual user: OpenAI’s help pages say deleted chats are removed within 30 days under normal rules but litigation created exceptions for some historical data from April–September 2025 [2] [1]. If you’re an enterprise or API user: you often control retention settings and can use Zero Data Retention endpoints to avoid logging; however, legal orders or bespoke contracts may override standard deletion practices [1] [7]. Legal commentators advised organizations to treat ChatGPT as potentially preservable evidence and to avoid putting highly sensitive material into chats until legal uncertainty abated [3].
7. Limits of available reporting and what’s not covered
Available sources do not mention a single, uniform post‑litigation policy that applies to all accounts forever; instead, reporting and OpenAI’s statements describe a mix of standard 30‑day deletion practices, backup retention windows, product‑level variability, and litigation‑specific preservation of limited historical data [1] [2] [4]. Available sources do not provide a detailed technical timeline of exactly when all preserved April–September 2025 data will be deleted, if ever, beyond OpenAI’s statement about storing limited historical data while litigation and related orders were in effect [1] [3].
Bottom line: OpenAI’s baseline public policy has been 30‑day automatic deletion with backups possibly holding data a little longer, but the 2025 court preservation order created a clear, legally compelled exception for at least some April–September 2025 logs — and product type, contracts, and legal process determine whether a given conversation was ultimately preserved [2] [1] [3].