# ChatGPT client-data cleanup checklist

One page, for anyone who pasted client details into ChatGPT. Menu names match ChatGPT on a Plus account in Chrome, October 2026. On Business or Enterprise, your workspace admin may set some of these for you.

From the free Stepthrough lesson: https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-clear-history

## Before you start
- [ ] Check what your firm must keep for records. If you will remove more than one or two chats, export first: your name (bottom left) > Settings > Data controls > Export data > Export. ChatGPT emails you a link to the file.

## Clean up
1. [ ] **Delete the chat.** Find it in the sidebar under Recents (the magnifying glass searches your chats). Open it and check it is the right one. Click ··· at the top right > Delete > Delete chat. It "can't be undone".
2. [ ] **Archive what you keep.** For a chat the firm needs for records: sidebar ··· next to the chat > Archive. It leaves the sidebar but is still stored. Find it later in Settings > Archived chats (Unarchive or Delete).
3. [ ] **Clear the memory.** Settings > Personalization > ChatGPT memory > the "saved memories" link. Click ··· next to each memory that names a client > Delete. Leave the others. Do not use "Delete all memories" for a cleanup.
4. [ ] **Memory on shared logins.** In the same place, Enable memory is the switch for the whole feature. Most firms turn it off on any login more than one person uses.

## Set safe defaults
5. [ ] **Training off.** Settings > Data controls > Improve the model for everyone: off, on every account used for client work.
6. [ ] **Export before big cleanups.** Data controls > Export data. Keep the file where your records live.
7. [ ] **Leave Delete all chats alone.** Data controls > Delete all chats removes every chat at once and cannot be undone. Cleanup is one chat at a time.
8. [ ] **Temporary Chat next time.** The icon at the top right of a new chat. It ignores memory, plugins and custom instructions and won't appear in your history. A copy may still be kept for up to 30 days, so take names and account numbers out first.

## Tell the client or partner
- [ ] One line: what you removed (chats and memories), and what you changed so it does not happen again.

Not legal advice. Your client contracts and record-keeping rules come first. ChatGPT is an OpenAI product; Stepthrough is not affiliated with OpenAI.