How do I use Temporary Chat (incognito mode) in ChatGPT?

Temporary Chat is ChatGPT's built-in "incognito mode": the conversation never appears in the sidebar history, so other users on a shared account can't see it. It's the first choice for anything personal.

Turning it on (web)

1. Open chatgpt.com and sign in.
2. On a new chat screen, click the dashed-circle icon (Temporary chat) in the top-right corner — in some versions the toggle sits at the bottom of the model picker dropdown at the top.
3. The page switches to a dark banner reading "Temporary Chat" and explains that this conversation won't be saved.
4. Chat as usual. Close the page or start a new chat when you're done, and nothing is left behind.

The mobile app uses the same entry point: the dashed-circle icon in the top-right of a new chat.

What it actually does

• The conversation is never saved to history, so other users on the account see nothing.
• The content is not used for model training and neither reads from nor writes to the account's Memory.
• OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes, but it never appears in any interface.

Caveats

• No continuity: once closed, the conversation can't be recovered. Copy out anything important before you leave.
• It applies to the current conversation only — turn it on again for each new chat.
• Model quotas still count; Temporary Chat doesn't save your GPT-4o message allowance.