How to lock ChatGPT with a password

People tell ChatGPT things they wouldn't type into a search box: a health worry, money trouble, the first draft of a difficult message. Every one of those chats sits in the sidebar with a title, ready for the next person who opens chatgpt.com on your computer.

What ChatGPT's own settings cover

• Temporary Chat doesn't save the conversation to your history. It's the right tool for a one-off question. You need to turn it on before you begin, and you can't go back to the chat later.
• Deleting or archiving a chat takes it out of the sidebar. It works one chat at a time, so it's only practical if you rarely have something to hide.
• Memory is easy to forget about. ChatGPT can keep facts about you between chats, and they're listed under Settings, then Personalization. Anyone using your login can read that list, and gets answers shaped by it.
• Logging out is the surest, and the one most people give up on, because logging back in takes a password and often a code from your email.

Put a password on ChatGPT with Web Lock

1. Add Web Lock to Chrome and let its setup page open.
2. Choose the password you'll unlock with, and a recovery email in case you forget it.
3. ChatGPT isn't one of the suggested sites, so use the Another site box: type chatgpt.com and add it.
4. Open ChatGPT. The lock screen should appear where your chats usually are.

Old bookmarks to chat.openai.com are covered by the same entry, since that address now leads to chatgpt.com.

Other AI assistants

If you've moved between assistants, your history is spread across them. Each one is a single line in Locked sites:

• claude.ai for Claude.
• gemini.google.com for Gemini. If google.com is already on your list, Gemini is included.
• copilot.microsoft.com for Copilot.
• perplexity.ai for Perplexity.

If the family uses ChatGPT too

A lock on chatgpt.com locks it for everyone on that browser, which may not be what you want if your partner or kids use it as well. Two ways around that:

• Give them the password and accept that they can see your chats. Fine for a couple, less so with children.
• Give them their own browser profile with their own free ChatGPT login. Web Lock is installed per profile, so your profile stays locked and theirs is theirs.

For a child, locking has a second use: they have to ask you before using ChatGPT at all. Web Lock Pro's schedules can also keep it closed during homework hours.

What this doesn't cover

• The ChatGPT desktop and phone apps. They aren't websites, so a browser extension has no say over them.
• A chat you left open. The password is asked for when ChatGPT is opened. Close the tab before you walk away, or turn on auto-lock in Web Lock Pro.
• Shared links. A chat you shared with a link can be read by anyone who has the link, on any computer. You can review them in ChatGPT's data settings.

Questions people ask

Does ChatGPT have a password lock or a PIN?

Not on the website. If you're logged in, chatgpt.com opens with your whole history in the sidebar. The only password is the one you log in with.

Does Temporary Chat hide my chats from other people on my computer?

It keeps that one chat out of your history, so there's nothing to find afterwards. It does nothing for the chats you had before, and you have to switch it on before you start typing.

Does locking chatgpt.com lock the ChatGPT desktop app?

No. The desktop app is a separate program, and a browser extension can't reach it. If you use the app on a shared computer, log out of it or give yourself a separate computer account.

Can I lock Claude, Gemini and Copilot the same way?

Yes. Add claude.ai, gemini.google.com or copilot.microsoft.com to your locked sites, one line each. They all open with the same Web Lock password.

Does Web Lock read my conversations?

No. It compares the address of a page with your list and shows the lock screen when they match. Your list of locked sites and your password stay in your browser.