Why this matters
Last Tuesday someone at your firm pasted a client’s name, an account number and a balance into ChatGPT to tidy a note. Now the client asks what you keep in AI tools. The honest answer is “we’re not sure”, and that is the answer that costs renewals.
The details usually sit in two places: the chat itself, and ChatGPT’s memory if it saved something along the way. Deleting one does not delete the other. Archiving does not delete anything.
Do the practice first. In about ten minutes you delete that one chat, archive a chat you need to keep, delete the one memory it left, set safe defaults and start using Temporary Chat. Then repeat it in your own account with the checklist below.
Practice
Do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool. It checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on.
What you’ll build
You are Morgan, a staff accountant at Calloway & Reyes CPAs, a made-up five-person firm. The partner wants the Okafor Family Trust’s details out of ChatGPT before Friday, without losing the chats the firm keeps for records.
You finish with the client chat deleted, a records chat archived (and you know where Archived chats lives), the client memory deleted and the others kept, model training off, Export data found, Delete all chats left alone, and a Temporary Chat open for the next sensitive job. You also leave with a one-page cleanup checklist.
What you need
- Nothing to start the practiceEvery screen is a practice copy. Nothing is deleted and the firm, client and numbers are made up.
- The ChatGPT account used for client workchatgpt.com, signed in as the person who pasted the details. On Business or Enterprise, your workspace admin may control retention and some of these settings.
- Where everything livesChats: the sidebar under Recents (the magnifying glass searches them). Delete: ··· at the top right of an open chat. Archived chats, Personalization (memory) and Data controls: your name at the bottom left, then Settings.
- Your record-keeping rulesCheck what your firm must keep before you delete anything. If in doubt, Export data first. This is not legal advice.
Concepts
Delete, archive and Delete all are three different things
Delete removes one chat for good. ChatGPT warns you: “This will permanently delete” the chat, and it “can’t be undone”. Use it for client details you should not be holding.
Archive only moves a chat out of the sidebar. It is still stored, and you find it in Settings, Archived chats, with Unarchive and Delete next to it. Use it for chats the firm keeps.
Delete all chats, under Settings, Data controls, removes every chat at once. It is not a cleanup tool. Know where it is and leave it alone unless you are closing the account down.
Memory is separate from your chats
ChatGPT memory is a list of saved facts that can shape new chats. Deleting a chat does not delete a memory saved from it, so a client’s name could still turn up in a different conversation.
Settings, Personalization, saved memories shows the list. Use ··· next to one memory, then Delete, to remove just that one. The Delete all memories option in the same window wipes the useful ones too. Enable memory, at the top of the page, is the switch for the whole feature; most firms turn it off on any login more than one person uses.
Temporary Chat means nothing to clean up later
The icon at the top right of a new chat starts a Temporary chat. ChatGPT says it will ignore memory, plugins and custom instructions, and it won’t appear in your history.
The line at the bottom adds that, for safety, a copy may be kept for up to 30 days. So it is safer, not secret: names and account numbers still come out first. For the account-wide settings behind this, see ChatGPT Data Controls.
Do it for real
Now repeat it in your own account. Tick each step as you go.
Downloads
- ChatGPT client-data cleanup checklist (.md, one page)The eight steps from the end of the lesson, with the exact menu names. Print it or paste it into your handbook.
Quick check
3 questions to check you’ve got it.
1. A chat has a client’s account number in it. You archive it. Is the number gone?
- Yes, archived chats are deleted after 30 days
- No, archive only hides it from the sidebar; it is still stored
- Yes, but only from memory
Show the answer
No, archive only hides it from the sidebar; it is still stored. Archived chats stay in Settings, Archived chats. Delete is what removes a chat.
2. You deleted the chat. Can ChatGPT still bring up the client’s name in a new chat?
- No, deleting a chat removes everything
- Yes, if a memory was saved from it; delete that memory too
- Only in Temporary Chat
Show the answer
Yes, if a memory was saved from it; delete that memory too. Memory is a separate list under Personalization. Clean up the chat and the memory.
3. What is Delete all chats for?
- A quick monthly cleanup
- Closing an account down; it removes every chat and cannot be undone
- Removing shared links
Show the answer
Closing an account down; it removes every chat and cannot be undone. Cleanup is one chat at a time. Delete all wipes the records the firm needs too.
Roll Out a Team AI Policy in One Afternoon using Claude
Your account is clean and the defaults are set. Next, write the rules for the whole team: Claude turns your decisions into a one-page AI policy, an announcement email and a five-question staff quiz.
Start module 7 →