If you use ChatGPT on your Mac, and you have the right type of account, you'll soon be able to start asking your bot questions about how you use your computer. As highlighted by 9to5Mac, OpenAI announced "Computer History" on Thursday, a new feature that lets ChatGPT keep a history of actions you take on your Mac.
As OpenAI pitches it, you'll be able to ask ChatGPT about projects you recently worked on, request details about your work "patterns," and turn frequently used tasks into automations. For example, you could ask ChatGPT "What was I working on before I took a break?" and, with Computer History enabled, it can look through your recent activity to deliver your answer. You could also ask about files you remember looking at, but can't find, e.g., "Where is that planning document I was looking at this morning?"
How ChatGPT's Computer History works
Unlike something like Windows Recall, Computer History doesn't actually take screenshots of your Mac's display to work. It also doesn't record your screen or tap into microphones or system audio. Instead, the feature collects data from the sources you allow it to see. Every time you click, type, use a keyboard shortcut, and switch an app, Computer History takes note. It even watches out for "context" from macOS accessibility processes to inform its records. OpenAI says that Computer History will occasionally save this data as both text summaries and local memory files.
The good news for the privacy-minded is that Computer History is opt-in by default. That means it won't work until you manually enable the feature. Even when you do, Computer History won't track everything you do out of the box: You'll be able to choose which apps and sites ChatGPT keeps tabs on, and you can pause "collection" from the menu bar at any time. Private or incognito browsing is never recorded either. There are separate controls for workspace access, personal opt-in, memories, and apps and sites, and you can adjust all of these settings at any time.
In addition to asking ChatGPT directly about your history, you can manually review the data the feature collects yourself. Under Settings > Computer history > History, you'll find the local memory file for summaries, options to delete individual items, and the ability to clear a specific timeframe of history, similar to how clearing your history works in a web browser.
Is ChatGPT's Computer History secure?
The short answer? No. While OpenAI is adamant that the feature stores your data in secure locations away from other apps, it acknowledges that the feature can and does store sensitive information without encryption. As such, programs running as your macOS user may be able to access these files. What's more, the company is open about the fact that Computer History increases your risk of prompt injection attacks, as ChatGPT may follow malicious instructions it sees on the apps and websites it's tracking.
OpenAI also processes some of these files on its server in order to generate memories. The company says it doesn't save those files after processing unless required by law, and claims it doesn't use them for training. That said, OpenAI may scrape chat content that uses one of these processed memories in a future chat for training, if you allow the company to train its models off your ChatGPT data.
As with AI browsers, there are likely steps you can take to limit your risk exposure while using Computer History, but as it stands, it seems those risks far outweigh the benefits. You might like a feature like this if you frequently forget what you were working on earlier in the day, or if you're looking for an objective analysis of how you use your Mac. But I think there are other systems you can use to stay on task that don't expose you to a privacy invasion or, even worse, a cyberattack.
How to turn on Computer History in ChatGPT
If you're interested in trying this feature out, it's easy to enable—assuming you're under the right ChatGPT plan. OpenAI says that Business or Enterprise workspace users will need administrator approval first. If you're a personal ChatGPT user, you'll need to subscribe to ChatGPT Pro for access.
Assuming you meet one of the above qualifications, you can get started by opening ChatGPT's Mac app, then, in Settings, head to Integrations > Computer history. Here, choose "Turn on," then review all permissions and settings. You will need to turn on "Memories" if it isn't enabled already, as the app uses the feature for context as you move through chats and tasks. Finally, choose the apps and websites Computer History will track, and enable any macOS permissions required.
Under Settings > Computer history > Permissions, you'll find options for "Exclude these apps," "Exclude these websites," "Include only these apps," and "Include only these websites" that will let you fine-tune Computer History's tracking to a degree. You can also pause or stop Computer History at any time from your Mac's menu bar.
