Does the ChatGPT data export include my memories?

What does the ChatGPT export contain?

The export is available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise.

1. On the web

   Open Settings, Data controls, Export data and confirm.

   Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export. OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

2. On mobile

   Open the app's settings and choose Export data.

   Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export. OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

3. Through the privacy portal

   You can also make a privacy request at privacy.openai.com.

   You can make a privacy request at privacy.openai.com or by emailing dsar@openai.com. OpenAI says deleted data is removed from its systems within 30 days unless it must keep it longer, for example for legal reasons. The policy directs UK residents to the Information Commissioner's Office. OpenAI EU Privacy Policy. Verified 22 October 2026.

4. Wait for the email

   Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. The download link expires 24 hours after receipt, so save the file somewhere you control.

   Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export. OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

Is my memory in the export?

OpenAI's export article says the ZIP includes your chat history and other relevant account data. It does not list the files inside, and it does not name memory.

So the plain answer: OpenAI does not say your memories are in the export, and you should not rely on it as a memory backup.

Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export. OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

Why is copying the memory list no longer enough?

OpenAI's June 2026 memory update curates memory in the background from chat history and shows it as a memory summary. OpenAI also says what ChatGPT may know about you can sit in past chats, archived chats, files and connected apps. A copy of the memory summary, or of the legacy saved-memories list, covers only one of those.

OpenAI's own deletion advice makes the same point from the other side: to fully delete something ChatGPT may know about you, you need to delete every source where it appears. One list is not the whole picture.

OpenAI's Memory FAQ says that to fully delete something ChatGPT may know about you, you need to delete every source where it appears: past chats, archived chats, files, the memory summary and connected apps. OpenAI Help Centre: Memory FAQ. Verified 27 October 2026.

In Settings, Personalization, Memory you can select Saved memories to use the legacy experience, or Try improved memory to return. OpenAI does not say what happens to saved memories made before the switch. OpenAI Help Centre: Memory in ChatGPT. Verified 26 October 2026.

OpenAI's post of 4 June 2026 says saved memories first launched in April 2024, and that dreaming, a background process that curates memory from chat history, was first added in April 2025. It says the update is available to Plus and Pro users in the US, and will reach additional countries and Free and Go users over the coming weeks. OpenAI: Dreaming, better memory for a more helpful ChatGPT (4 June 2026). Verified 26 October 2026.

How do I back up my ChatGPT memory today?

1. Run the export

   Request your data export in Settings, Data controls, Export data. It can take up to 7 days to arrive.

   Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export. OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

2. Copy the memory summary

   Open Settings, then Memory (under Personalization on some versions), and copy the memory summary text into a file.

   The memory summary is a high-level view of information ChatGPT may use to personalise responses. You correct it by typing a correction or highlighting text. Saved memories are details you ask ChatGPT to remember, or that it saves as useful context, stored separately from chat history. OpenAI Help Centre: Memory in ChatGPT. Verified 26 October 2026.

3. Copy saved memories if you use the legacy view

   If you use the legacy Saved memories view, copy each entry you want to keep.

   In Settings, Personalization, Memory you can select Saved memories to use the legacy experience, or Try improved memory to return. OpenAI does not say what happens to saved memories made before the switch. OpenAI Help Centre: Memory in ChatGPT. Verified 26 October 2026.

4. Copy your custom instructions

   Open Settings, Personalization, Custom instructions and copy the text.

5. Ask ChatGPT what it remembers

   In a new chat, ask ChatGPT to list what it remembers about you, and save the reply as text.

6. Date the file and repeat

   Name the file with today's date, and repeat on a schedule you will keep.

Can OpenAI restore lost memories?

OpenAI does not publish a way to restore lost memories. On the community forum, an OpenAI Support reply describes automatic backups that could restore chats, files, memory and Projects as a broader request with no timeline. That is a support reply, not OpenAI documentation.

On 7 September 2026 OpenAI Support replied on the community forum that automatic backups that can restore chats, files, memory and Projects are "a broader request" and "we don't have a timeline to share". User reports and a support reply, not OpenAI documentation. OpenAI community forum: backup request (OpenAI Support reply, 7 September 2026). Third-party source. Verified 27 October 2026.

What do other assistants' exports include?

None of the five assistants names memory as part of its main data export. Of these, Claude publishes a separate memory export.

What changed

Before OpenAI's June 2026 memory update, saved memories were a list you could read in Manage memories. Since that update, memory is curated in the background from chat history and shown as a summary (OpenAI, 4 June 2026).

OpenAI's post of 4 June 2026 says saved memories first launched in April 2024, and that dreaming, a background process that curates memory from chat history, was first added in April 2025. It says the update is available to Plus and Pro users in the US, and will reach additional countries and Free and Go users over the coming weeks. OpenAI: Dreaming, better memory for a more helpful ChatGPT (4 June 2026). Verified 26 October 2026.

How AI Twin keeps memory you can take with you

Typed Memory: Every memory entity carries a category: People, Documents, Facts, Events, Episodes, and further types beneath them. Queryable, editable, versioned, audited.

Nothing is saved until you confirm. Duplicates and conflicts come to you to decide.

In Settings, open Export and leaving, then Build my export. You get three files: a summary to read, the complete record of every memory, source and audit entry, and an archive for other apps. The download link lasts 7 days.

Best AI memory apps

Does the ChatGPT export include saved memories?

OpenAI does not say so. Memory is not named in its export article. Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export.

OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

How long does the ChatGPT export take?

Up to 7 days, and the download link expires 24 hours after receipt. Settings, Data controls, Export data gives a ZIP of chat history and account data, with a link that expires after 24 hours from receipt. Exports can take up to 7 days to arrive. Available on Free, Go, Plus, Pro and eligible Edu workspaces, not Business or Enterprise. Memory is not named as part of the export.

OpenAI Help Centre: Exporting your ChatGPT history and data. Verified 27 October 2026.

Can I back up ChatGPT memory automatically?

OpenAI does not publish an automatic memory backup. A support reply says there is no timeline for one. On 7 September 2026 OpenAI Support replied on the community forum that automatic backups that can restore chats, files, memory and Projects are "a broader request" and "we don't have a timeline to share". User reports and a support reply, not OpenAI documentation.

OpenAI community forum: backup request (OpenAI Support reply, 7 September 2026). Third-party source. Verified 27 October 2026.

Does Claude's export include memory?

Memory is not named in Claude's data export, but Claude memory has its own export. Settings, Privacy, Export data, on the web or desktop app. Not available from the iOS or Android apps. Exports include conversation data and account user data. The download link expires after 24 hours. Memory is not named as part of the export. Claude memory is exported from Settings, Your Claude, Manage next to Your memory, or by asking Claude to write out its memories of you verbatim, then copying the text into a file. Claude says imports are experimental and its memory focuses on work-related topics, so personal details may not be kept.

Claude Help Centre: Exporting your data. Verified 27 October 2026.

Claude Help Centre: Importing and exporting your memory from Claude. Verified 27 October 2026.

Can I import my ChatGPT memory into AI Twin?

Bring your exported conversations into your review queue. You choose what to keep.