Overview
- OpenAI announced the new Computer History feature in the ChatGPT macOS app on Thursday, replacing the earlier Chronicle research preview with a rebuilt system that uses interaction events instead of screenshots.
- Computer History is off by default and available only to ChatGPT Pro, Business and Enterprise users, with workspace administrators required to grant access for managed accounts and initial exclusions for the EEA, the UK and Switzerland.
- The feature records macOS accessibility‑exposed events such as clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts and app switches, then converts those events into local Markdown memory files and a timeline that ChatGPT and Codex can use as context.
- OpenAI processes the raw event stream on its servers to generate memories and says the raw files are deleted after up to 48 hours, but the resulting plain‑text memory files remain on the Mac unencrypted until a user deletes them.
- Users can choose which apps and sites are tracked, pause or clear history, and inspect or delete individual entries, yet OpenAI warns of prompt‑injection risk, local file access by other programs, and enterprise concerns over governance and data residency.