---
title: ChatGPT Can Now Watch and Remember How You Work Across Your Mac
description: OpenAI's new Computer History feature lets ChatGPT and Codex learn from your Mac activity. It is off by default, limited to paid tiers, and excludes the UK and EU at launch.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-14T11:16:47.086Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/chatgpt-mac-computer-history-feature
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/chatgpt-computer-history-153509.webp
categories: Artificial Intelligence
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

OpenAI has extended ChatGPT's memory beyond its own chat window. A feature called Computer History, added to the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac, lets ChatGPT and OpenAI's Codex coding tool learn from how you work across selected apps and websites, then recall that activity later. OpenAI described it in the desktop app changelog on Thursday. It moves ChatGPT from a tool you talk to toward one that watches the work you do everywhere else on the machine.

The feature builds a searchable timeline of what you do in the apps and websites you choose, and turns that timeline into what OpenAI calls memories that ChatGPT and Codex can draw on. You can ask what you were doing before a break, find a document you viewed recently, or get a summary of the day's work, according to OpenAI. When ChatGPT spots a task you repeat, it may suggest turning that workflow into a reusable skill or automation.

## It Logs Your Clicks and Keystrokes, Not Screenshots

Computer History replaces Chronicle, an earlier experimental feature that relied on screenshots. OpenAI says the new system is rebuilt rather than renamed. Instead of capturing images of the screen, it records interaction events that macOS exposes through its accessibility features: clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, and switching between apps. OpenAI says it does not take screenshots or screen recordings, does not capture microphone input or system audio, and excludes private browsing activity.

## It Is Off by Default and Limited to Paid Tiers

The feature is off by default, and each user has to enable it and pick which apps and websites contribute. It is available to ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users, and on the Business and Enterprise tiers an administrator has to grant access before members can turn it on. At launch it is not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.

## The Data Sits on Your Mac, Then Is Processed and Discarded

OpenAI says interaction events are stored temporarily on the Mac for up to 48 hours. Those events are processed on OpenAI's servers to generate memories, but OpenAI says they are not kept after processing and are not used to train its models. The plain-text memory files that result stay on the Mac until you delete them. From Settings, you can look through timeline entries, open individual memory files in Finder, delete specific items, or clear activity from the last 10 minutes, hour, day, or all of it.

## OpenAI Warns It Raises the Prompt-Injection Risk

OpenAI says Computer History can raise the risk of prompt injection, where malicious content inside an app or website tries to feed instructions to the assistant. It recommends pausing collection during conversations with other people unless they consent, and leaving out apps that hold sensitive information. The feature arrives about a month after Codex joined ChatGPT on the desktop, part of a wider move to put the assistant alongside a user's whole workflow rather than a single chat thread.

## FAQ

**Q: What is ChatGPT's Computer History feature?**
It is a feature in the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac that lets ChatGPT and Codex learn from and remember how you use your Mac across the apps and websites you select, building a searchable timeline of activity that becomes memories the assistant can use.

**Q: Is Computer History on by default?**
No. It is off by default. Each user has to enable it and choose which apps and websites contribute, and on Business and Enterprise plans an administrator has to grant access first.

**Q: What data does it collect?**
It records interaction events exposed through macOS accessibility features, including clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, and app switching. OpenAI says it does not capture screenshots, screen recordings, microphone input, or system audio, and it excludes private browsing.

**Q: Is it available in the UK or EU?**
Not at launch. OpenAI says initial availability excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and it is limited to ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users.

**Q: How do you delete your Computer History?**
From Settings you can inspect timeline entries, reveal individual memory files in Finder, delete specific items, or clear activity from the last 10 minutes, hour, day, or all time. The plain-text memory files stay stored locally until you remove them.