OpenAI is rolling out Computer History for ChatGPT on Mac, giving ChatGPT and Codex a way to remember what you have been doing across selected apps and websites. The feature creates a searchable timeline of activity that can be used to recover context, find recently viewed work, and summarize what you were doing.
Computer History is an opt-in feature and is turned off by default. It replaces Codex’s earlier Chronicle research preview with a rebuilt system that uses macOS accessibility events instead of screenshots.
Computer History Replaces Chronicle With A New Approach
Unlike Chronicle, which relied on screenshots, Computer History records interaction events exposed through macOS accessibility features. These can include clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, and switching between apps, allowing ChatGPT to build a timeline without continuously capturing what is displayed on screen.
Users can choose which apps and websites contribute to their history, pause collection, and review or delete saved activity. This gives ChatGPT and Codex additional context about work that happens outside the ChatGPT app itself.
For example, you could ask ChatGPT what you were working on before taking a break, find a document you recently viewed, or generate a summary of your day’s activity. OpenAI also says ChatGPT may suggest turning repeated workflows into skills or automations based on the activity it observes.
Computer History Is Opt-In And Focused On Privacy
Computer History is available to ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS. Pro users can enable it themselves, while Business and Enterprise administrators must first allow the feature for their workspace before individual members can turn it on.
The feature is initially unavailable in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Users can manage Computer History from Settings, including reviewing timeline entries, revealing individual memory files in Finder, deleting specific items, or clearing activity from the last 10 minutes, hour, day, or all time.
OpenAI says Computer History does not capture screenshots, screen recordings, microphone input, or system audio, and private browsing activity is excluded. Interaction events are temporarily stored on the Mac for up to 48 hours while they are processed to create memories. OpenAI says those events are not retained after processing or used to train its models, while the resulting plain-text memory files remain stored locally until the user deletes them.
OpenAI also warns that giving an AI access to activity across apps and websites can introduce additional prompt injection risks. The company recommends pausing Computer History when communicating with other people without their consent and excluding apps that contain sensitive information.
The feature represents a significant expansion of how ChatGPT can maintain context on Mac. Rather than relying only on what happens inside the chatbot, Computer History lets ChatGPT and Codex use a user’s broader workflow as context, while keeping the feature optional and giving users control over what gets included.
