Use Recent Chats to quickly revisit and continue past conversations without scrolling through endless history. This guide explains how to find previous chats, search by keywords, access older conversations, and manage privacy using ChatGPT on web and mobile.
What is “Recent Chats”?
Recent Chats is a simple way to locate past conversations. A compact list of your most recent conversations appears in the sidebar. If the conversation you need isn’t listed, use the search magnifying glass (or press Ctrl+K / Cmd+K) to search by keywords. ChatGPT searches conversation titles and content and shows matching results for you to open.
Searching Previous Conversations
On the Web
To search your chat history from a desktop browser:
- Log in to ChatGPT.
- Click the Search magnifying glass in the left sidebar or press Ctrl+K (Windows) / Cmd+K (Mac).
- Enter keywords or phrases from the conversation you’re looking for. ChatGPT will search titles and messages. Exact matches work best, and Canvas contents are not searchable.
- Browse the results and click a conversation to reopen it exactly where you left off.
Try it now – Web
- Log in to ChatGPT on your browser.
- Open the search bar using the magnifying glass or
Ctrl/Cmd+K. - Type a keyword from a past chat and open the conversation.
On Mobile
On iOS and Android, open your past chats by tapping the search bar in the sidebar and entering a keyword. Mobile search works the same as the web: titles and content are searchable with exact matches only.
On Android, you can also tap the two-line menu in the top‑left corner to view a list of previous chats starting with the newest.
Try it now – Mobile
- Open the ChatGPT app on your phone.
- Tap the search bar in the sidebar and search for a conversation.
- On Android, use the two‑line menu to browse recent chats.
Understanding the Chat List
The sidebar shows a compact list of your most recent conversations. Older chats are trimmed from this quick cache, but none are deleted. When you search or open an older conversation, ChatGPT retrieves it from storage and refreshes your list.
Archived conversations aren’t displayed in the sidebar, but they remain searchable and can be accessed through Settings where they’re organised separately.
Try it now – Chat List
- Scroll through your sidebar and note how only recent chats appear.
- Search for an older or archived chat using keywords.
- Open the retrieved chat to refresh it in your list.
Memory & Search
ChatGPT may use details from your saved memories or recent chats to rewrite your query and tailor search results.
For example, if you’ve told ChatGPT that you’re vegan and live in San Francisco, a search like “restaurants near me” might be rewritten to “good vegan restaurants in San Francisco.” This makes results more relevant, but you remain in control: you can manage saved memories or disable memory in Settings.
Try it now – Memory Aware Search
- Teach ChatGPT a preference (e.g., “Remember that I’m vegan”).
- Perform a search that could use that preference (e.g., ask for restaurant recommendations).
- Notice how the search results incorporate your memory.
Privacy & Deletion
Deleting a conversation removes it from your history and from the search index.
To avoid storing a conversation at all, use Temporary Chat or disable chat history in settings. Managing saved memories separately ensures they aren’t used in future searches unless you want them.
Try it now – Manage Privacy
- Delete a test conversation and verify it no longer appears in search results.
- Start a Temporary Chat and confirm that it doesn’t show up in Recent Chats.
- Explore memory settings and clear a saved memory.
Tips & Best Practices
- Use specific keywords for better matches—only exact matches are supported.
- Include a few distinctive phrases from the conversation title or content to narrow results.
- Remember that Canvas content isn’t searchable, so note text separately if you’ll need it later.
- When using mobile, make sure the app is updated to see the latest search features.
- Take advantage of search improvements: tapping a result jumps directly to the right spot in the conversation.
Try it now – Best Practices
- Perform a search using a distinctive phrase and verify the result.
- Search for something you know is inside a Canvas to see that it doesn’t appear.
- Open a search result and confirm it jumps to the right message.
Recap
Recent Chats helps you stay organized by showing your latest conversations and giving you a powerful search to find any past discussion. Whether you’re resuming a project or recalling a detail, use the search icon or keyboard shortcuts to quickly locate the chat you need, manage your history and memory for privacy, and enjoy a streamlined workflow across web and mobile.
Sources:
[1] ChatGPT search help article
[2] ChatGPT mobile and Android access
[3] Memory FAQ on search rewriting
[4] Release notes on search result navigation.