I Though I’d Lost My ChatGPT History and It Almost Scared Me to Death

I usage ChatGPT a lot. Multiple times a day, I crook to ChatGPT for assistance with everything from brainstorming nonfiction ideas to searching the web. It's an incredibly utile tool, and my usage has gone adjacent higher with the merchandise of the caller image-generation updates.

That's wherefore I had a infinitesimal of implicit panic erstwhile I thought I'd mislaid my ChatGPT history. It brought location conscionable however overmuch accusation I could lose.

My ChatGPT History Looked Like It Was Gone

In ChatGPT's sidebar, there's a agelong database of each of my erstwhile chats. Some of them I've organized into folders, but the immense bulk are successful the tremendous database of conversations. There are hundreds of conversations, and I tin spell backmost into immoderate 1 of them astatine immoderate clip I want.

Imagine my panic, then, erstwhile I glanced astatine the sidebar, and determination were 2 conversations showing supra a frighteningly ample expanse of bare space. In that instant, my tummy dropped astatine the realization that each of my ChatGPT past was gone forever.

Thankfully, the panic was lone temporary. I rapidly determined that I'd accidentally typed immoderate random letters successful the ChatGPT hunt tract with my clumsy fingers, and it was showing lone those chats that contained this text. I deleted the substance from the hunt field, and the afloat database of chats was returned, to my tremendous relief!

Why Losing My ChatGPT Data Scared Me So Much

It's lone an AI chatbot, truthful wherefore did the thought of losing each my chat past nonstop maine into specified a panic? The elemental crushed is that, implicit the months, I've enactment a batch of clip into utilizing ChatGPT.

I've created personalized projects and custom GPTs that took a agelong clip to perfect, and that I usage daily. I person scheduled tasks acceptable up to punctual maine of what I request to bash oregon conscionable to make amusing images each day. Even successful wide conversations, I person accusation that I mightiness privation to notation to again oregon images that I've generated.

The thought of having to commencement again from scratch was a genuinely frightening one, with truthful overmuch accusation mislaid and truthful galore of my personalized settings gone forever. It would person taken maine hours conscionable to acceptable up each my projects and customized GPTs again, and the accusation successful the conversations would beryllium astir intolerable to recreate.

It was lone erstwhile I thought that I'd mislaid it each that I adjacent stopped to see what losing my ChatGPT past would mean. I resolved to guarantee that if it ever did happen, I would astatine slightest person immoderate benignant of backup.

I Wasn't Aware You Could Back Up Your Chats

Up to this point, I hadn't adjacent thought astir whether you could backmost up ChatGPT. This is, of course, truly dumb aft putting truthful overmuch clip and accusation into it, but AI chatbots are specified a caller improvement that I'd not truly thought astir treating the information similar immoderate different important information I person and backing it up.

After a speedy search, I recovered that it was imaginable to backmost up your ChatGPT history, and it was casual to bash so. In the Data Controls settings of each the ChatGPT platforms, determination is an "Export Data" option. Clicking this enactment generates a backup of each of your ChatGPT past and sends a download nexus to your registered email code that is valid for 24 hours.

It tin instrumentality immoderate clip for the email to beryllium sent, and the archetypal clip I tried it, thing ever came. The 2nd time, however, I got the email aft a mates of hours and was capable to download the backup via the link.

Not Everything Gets Backed Up

The backup is simply a small odd. You get a folder that's mostly afloat of DAT files on with a "chat.html" record that contains the substance of each of your chats that you tin unfastened and work successful a browser.

Your representation generations are besides included successful the data, but portion the DALL-E images are exported successful a bully folder of WEBP representation files, images generated with the caller 4o Image Generation are saved arsenic DAT files, making them much of a chore to open. Some of the DAT files besides incorporate the audio responses from utilizing ChatGPT voice, but there's nary evident mode of telling them isolated from the images based connected the record names.

Thankfully, VLC was acceptable arsenic the default for .DAT files and had nary occupation opening some the images and the audio files due to the fact that VLC tin unfastened thing connected Earth, it seems. As good arsenic immoderate images ChatGPT has generated, your backup information besides includes immoderate images that you've uploaded to ChatGPT.

If you're hoping for a afloat backup of each your ChatGPT data, however, past you'll beryllium disappointed. The download doesn't see immoderate of your ChatGPT projects oregon scheduled tasks. It doesn't incorporate immoderate of your customized GPTs, either. It means that if the worst did happen, there's inactive a batch you could lose.

Relying connected a Single Service Isn't the Best Idea

There's a saying astir having each your eggs successful 1 basket, and that's a small similar however it feels with ChatGPT. If thing did spell incorrect with ChatGPT, I'd suffer the immense bulk of my AI chatbot interactions successful 1 fell swoop. I would accidental 95% of my chatbot interactions person been with ChatGPT.

By lone utilizing 1 AI chatbot, your information is astatine much risk. The 3-2-1 backup rule says you should person 3 copies of your information connected 2 antithetic types of media with 1 off-site copy. That's evidently not imaginable with AI chatbots, but spreading conversations implicit aggregate AI chatbots alternatively of conscionable relying connected a azygous exemplary mightiness beryllium a much sensible enactment arsenic a mode of minimizing the hazard of losing each speech you've ever had.

I'm Carrying On Regardless for Now

The occupation is, I can't spend to wage for subscriptions to each azygous AI service; I person a ChatGPT Plus subscription, truthful that's the 1 I predominantly use. Not lone does the subscription springiness maine other features and higher limits, but it besides makes maine much apt to usage ChatGPT since I'm paying for it.

I bash usage different chatbots with escaped accounts; there's a batch you tin do with Gemini for free that's arsenic bully arsenic oregon adjacent amended than what ChatGPT tin offer, and I utilized Claude for escaped successful a batch of my iOS shortcuts. Ultimately, however, I'm inactive utilizing ChatGPT the immense bulk of the time. It's putting immoderate of my information astatine risk, but it's a hazard I'll conscionable person to take.

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For the little infinitesimal erstwhile I thought I'd mislaid each of my ChatGPT data, I truly did panic. I present person a backup of a batch of the data, though if thing did spell wrong, there's inactive a batch that I would lose.

Perhaps the astir frightening thing, however, is realizing conscionable however overmuch information I've entered into ChatGPT and what an incredibly close illustration of maine it would beryllium capable to make from that data. For now, that information doesn't look to beryllium enactment to immoderate sinister use, but who knows what it mightiness beryllium utilized for successful the future? Regardless, if you haven't already, I'd decidedly urge exporting your information conscionable to beryllium connected the harmless side.