ChatGPT Can Now Remember the Actions You Take on Your Mac.
If you use ChatGPT on your Mac and have the appropriate account type, you’ll soon be able to start asking your bot questions about how you use your computer. As 9to5Mac reports , on Thursday, OpenAI announced ” Computer History ,” a new feature that allows ChatGPT to keep a history of your Mac activities.
According to OpenAI, you’ll be able to ask ChatGPT questions about projects you’ve recently worked on, request detailed information about your work “patterns,” and turn frequently used tasks into automated scripts. For example, you can ask ChatGPT, “What was I working on before my break?” and, if the “Computer History” feature is enabled, the system will be able to review your recent activity and provide an answer. You can also ask about files you remember viewing but can’t find, such as, “Where’s that planning document I was looking at this morning?”
How does ChatGPT’s computer browsing history work?
Unlike features like Windows Recall , Computer History doesn’t take screenshots of your Mac’s screen. It also doesn’t record your screen or use microphones or system audio. Instead, it collects data from the sources you allow it to access. Every time you click, type, use a keyboard shortcut, or switch apps, Computer History records it. It even tracks the “context” of macOS accessibility processes to accurately record data. According to OpenAI, Computer History sometimes saves this data both as text summaries and as files in local memory.
Good news for privacy-conscious users: Computer History is opt-in by default. This means it won’t work unless you manually enable it. Even then, Computer History won’t track all your activity at once: you can choose which apps and websites ChatGPT monitors, and you can pause data collection at any time from the menu. Private or incognito browsing is also never recorded. There are separate settings for workspace access, personal consent, memories, and apps and websites, and you can change all of these settings at any time.
In addition to directly requesting ChatGPT information about your history, you can manually review the data collected by this feature. Under Settings > Computer History > History, you’ll find a local file with summary information, options for deleting individual items, and the ability to clear history for a specific time period, similar to how you can do this in a web browser.
How secure is ChatGPT’s browsing history?
The short answer? No. While OpenAI insists this feature stores your data in secure locations, away from other apps, it acknowledges that it can and does store sensitive information without encryption. Therefore, programs running on behalf of the macOS user can access these files. Furthermore, the company openly states that Computer History increases the risk of malware injection attacks , as ChatGPT can follow malicious instructions it sees in monitored apps and websites.
OpenAI also processes some of these files on its server to generate memories. The company states that it does not retain these files after processing unless required by law, and maintains that it does not use them for training. However, OpenAI may collect chat content that uses one of these processed memories in future chats for training purposes if you allow the company to train its models on your ChatGPT data.
As with AI-powered browsers , there are likely steps you can take to limit the risks of using Computer History, but for now, it seems the risks far outweigh the benefits. You might appreciate this feature 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 focused on the task at hand without exposing yourself to privacy invasions or, worse, cyberattacks.
How to enable computer history in ChatGPT
If you’re interested in this feature, it’s easy to enable—provided you have a qualifying ChatGPT plan. OpenAI advises that users of Business or Enterprise workspaces will first need administrator approval. If you’re an individual ChatGPT user, you’ll need a ChatGPT Pro subscription to access it.
If you meet one of the above conditions, start by opening the ChatGPT app for Mac, then go to Integrations > Computer History in Preferences. Select “Enable” and then review all permissions and settings. You’ll need to enable “Memories” if it isn’t already enabled, as the app uses it for context when navigating chats and tasks. Finally, select the apps and websites you want “Computer History” to monitor and enable any necessary macOS permissions.
In Preferences > Computer History > Permissions, you’ll find options like “Exclude these apps,” “Exclude these websites,” “Include only these apps,” and “Include only these websites,” which allow you to fine-tune your computer history tracking. You can also pause or stop computer history at any time from your Mac’s menu bar.