chatgpt-memory-and-personalisation
Lesson 3 of 7
Memory and Personalisation
Make ChatGPT feel more useful and consistent while staying in control of what it remembers, how it responds and how your conversations are used.
- 15–20 minutes
- Beginner
- Interactive privacy guide
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson
The Personalisation Map
Four controls, four different jobs
Understanding Memory
Saved memories and chat history are related—but not identical
| Feature | How it helps | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Saved memories | Stores useful details such as your preferences, name or recurring goals. You can explicitly say “Remember that…” | Stored separately from chat history; deleting the original chat does not automatically delete the saved memory. |
| Reference chat history | Can draw useful context from previous chats to personalise future responses. | It does not retain every detail. Use saved memories for information you want kept consistently. |
| Memory summary or management | Lets you inspect and manage remembered information where the feature is available. | A summary may not display every part of the broader personalised context. |
| Temporary Chat | Starts a conversation that does not use or create memories and does not appear in history. | It is for temporary work, not a place to store something you need later. |
Step by Step
Set up personalisation deliberately
Open Personalisation
Open your profile menu, select Settings, then open Personalisation. On mobile, labels may appear under Customize ChatGPT.
Choose a base style and tone
Select the Personality that best suits your work. Friendly supports conversational guidance; Professional suits polished workplace communication. Your prompt and context can still change the tone for a particular task.
Add concise Custom Instructions
State stable preferences such as New Zealand English, step-by-step explanations, accessibility and the projects you routinely work on. Avoid passwords, financial details and secrets.
Review Memory controls
Decide whether saved memories and reference to past chats are appropriate for you. If enabled, inspect the memory summary or Manage Memories options available on your account.
Check Data Controls separately
In Settings → Data Controls, decide whether “Improve the model for everyone” suits your preference. Turning this off does not remove ordinary chats from your history.
Practical Personalisation
Write instructions that remain useful
Custom Instructions apply immediately across chats and are available across supported web, desktop and mobile experiences. Keep them focused on durable preferences rather than the temporary details of one task.
Good information to include
- Your preferred language, spelling and level of detail.
- Your learning style and accessibility needs.
- Recurring project names and stable goals.
- How you want uncertainty, recommendations and next steps presented.
Information to leave out
- Passwords, recovery codes, API keys or payment details.
- Confidential client information that is not needed.
- Large templates that belong in a project file or document.
- Instructions that only apply to one conversation.
Privacy and Control
Turning something off is not always the same as deleting it
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Turn saved memory off | Stops saved memory being used, but does not by itself delete what was already remembered. |
| Delete a chat | Removes that conversation, but a saved memory created from it may still exist separately. |
| Fully remove remembered information | Delete the saved memory and the chats where the information was shared or referenced. Relevant files or connected-app sources may also need separate removal. |
| Turn off reference chat history | OpenAI states that remembered information from past chats is deleted from its systems within 30 days. |
| Turn off model improvement | Ordinary conversations can remain in history, but are not used to improve ChatGPT. |
| Use Temporary Chat | The chat does not appear in history and does not create memories; it is not used to train models. |
Interactive Tool
Choose the right personalisation control
Select your situation and this guide will suggest the most suitable starting point.
Practical Activity
Complete a personalisation and privacy review
0 of 8 completed — begin by opening Personalisation.
Recommended: 16:9 · Captioned · Web, Windows and mobile comparison
Future Demonstration
Tour the controls
This video will show Personality, Custom Instructions, Memory management, Temporary Chat and Data Controls without displaying private account information.
Quick Troubleshooting
When personalisation is not behaving as expected
ChatGPT remembered something incorrectly
Correct it directly, ask ChatGPT to forget it, and review the Memory management controls available in Settings. For full removal, also delete the chats or other sources containing that information.
I turned Memory off, but old memories still appear in management
Turning Memory off is not the same as deleting saved memories. Remove individual memories or clear them using the available management controls.
My Personality seems to be ignored
Personality works alongside prompts, Custom Instructions and saved memories. A direct request or conflicting instruction can change the visible tone.
I cannot see every setting shown in this lesson
Features vary by plan, region, workspace and rollout stage. Update the app, check the web interface and use the settings available to your account.
I do not want ordinary chats used to improve models
Open Settings → Data Controls and turn off “Improve the model for everyone”. This setting applies across the account and ordinary chats can remain in history.
Knowledge Check
Check your understanding
Official Resources
Learn more from OpenAI
Features and labels can change. Last reviewed: 13 July 2026.