ChatGPT can now build a timeline of everything you do on your Mac

Q: How do I enable or disable Computer History in the ChatGPT macOS app?

Computer History is off by default; to enable it you must opt in within the ChatGPT macOS app, and to disable it you must turn that option off in the app. You can also pause recording from the menu bar and delete individual entries, and exclude specific apps and websites. On Business and Enterprise workspaces, an administrator must first enable the feature before individual users can turn it on themselves.

Q: Which types of activity does Computer History record and which does it explicitly avoid capturing?

Computer History tracks clicks, keystrokes, app switches, and keyboard shortcuts to build a timeline of your activity. It lets users exclude specific apps and websites, pause recording from the menu bar, and delete individual entries. The feature explicitly does not capture screenshots, screen recordings, audio, video, or private browsing activity.

Q: How can I exclude specific apps or websites from being recorded by Computer History?

You can exclude specific apps and websites using Computer History’s built-in controls: the feature lets users exclude particular apps and websites, pause recording from the menu bar, and delete individual entries. The article also advises excluding apps that handle health, financial, or other sensitive personal data.

Q: What retention policy does OpenAI use for the temporary event files on my Mac?

OpenAI stores the temporary event files on the device for 48 hours before deleting them. These temporary files are kept locally on your Mac during that 48 hour period.

The opt-in Computer History feature avoids screenshots and recordings, though OpenAI warns the resulting files are stored as unencrypted plain text.

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Hassam Nasir

Tech Reporter

Published Aug 17, 2026 6:36 PM CDT

1 minute & 15 seconds read time

TL;DR: OpenAI's new Computer History feature tracks your Mac activity to give ChatGPT more context. It's opt-in and lets users exclude apps, pause tracking, and delete individual entries. However, the resulting memory files are stored as unencrypted plain-text Markdown, raising privacy concerns.

Voice: Hassam NasirSpeed

0:00 / 2:18

OpenAI has launched Computer History, a new feature for the ChatGPT macOS app that tracks clicks, keystrokes, app switches, and keyboard shortcuts to build a timeline of your activity.

The feature is opt-in rather than opt-out, something that is becoming increasingly important when it comes to how apps collect and use user data. Computer History does not capture screenshots, screen recordings, audio, video, or private browsing activity.

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Users can exclude specific apps and websites, pause recording from the menu bar, and delete individual entries. On Business and Enterprise workspaces, an administrator must enable the feature before users can turn it on themselves.

What ChatGPT does with that data is where things get more complicated. Temporary event files are stored on the device for 48 hours before being deleted, but OpenAI's own documentation explicitly warns that the resulting memory files are stored as unencrypted plain-text Markdown.

That means other applications running under the same macOS user account could potentially read them. OpenAI says these memory files are not used to train its models, but when those memories are surfaced as context in later chats, the resulting conversations may still be used for training depending on the user's settings.

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OpenAI is also unusually candid about the risks in its own documentation. It flags prompt injection as a concern, noting that hidden instructions on websites could potentially influence what the AI sees in a user's history. The company advises against using the feature with communication apps and recommends excluding apps that handle health, financial, or other sensitive personal data.

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Question #1

How do I enable or disable Computer History in the ChatGPT macOS app?

Question #2

Which types of activity does Computer History record and which does it explicitly avoid capturing?

Question #3

How can I exclude specific apps or websites from being recorded by Computer History?

Question #4

What retention policy does OpenAI use for the temporary event files on my Mac?

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The feature is not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. For everyone else, Computer History is off by default and requires users to deliberately enable it.