ChatGPT Computer History Raises Privacy Risks on Mac

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT from a conversational service into a personal assistant that can retain context about a user’s work. Computer History on the Mac desktop app captures macOS interaction events and converts them into an activity timeline and AI-accessible memories. That could make later queries more useful, but it also gives the software persistent visibility into potentially sensitive work, account activity and personal information.

As of Aug. 14, 2026, OpenAI had introduced Computer History for ChatGPT on Mac while acknowledging two significant security concerns: locally stored memory files are not encrypted, and the feature remains exposed to prompt-injection attacks. Malicious content incorporated into the timeline could manipulate the assistant into retrieving or disclosing stored information, turning a convenience feature into a potential device-level privacy vulnerability.