ChatGPT adds active memory on Mac with new feature tracking clicks and typing

OpenAI launched in the desktop version of ChatGPT for Mac a feature called Computer History, which turns user actions into a sequence of events the model can refer back to. The system learns how you work, suggests automations, and can resume tasks you left unfinished, all based on a timeline built from keystrokes and mouse clicks, without screenshots or audio recordings.

The feature is enabled only on an opt-in basis, not by default, and users can exclude specific applications or websites from tracking or delete individual records. Ari Weinstein, product and engineering manager at the company, said on X that “the system automatically ignores private tabs or incognito mode.” This contrasts with Microsoft’s approach, which pushed Recall to be enabled by default and drew sharp criticism over the risk of leaking sensitive information.

In a short demo video, Dominik Kundel of the developer experience team showed how the app locates the most recently edited document, checks whether a collaborator is on Slack, and presents a summary of what was done in the morning. The scenario illustrates the intended workflow: less manual searching through history, more immediate context that the model retrieves when prompted.

The technical difference from Windows Recall is that Microsoft relied on continuous screenshots, whereas OpenAI states that Computer History does not capture images, video, or audio, only “events.” The result is a smaller disk footprint and a reduced attack surface for privacy, though the underlying concept—a language-model-accessible history—is similar.

OpenAI did not publish performance metrics, did not specify how long the history is retained on servers, and did not detail whether the data are used to train future models beyond the immediate context. Availability for Windows or Linux was also not mentioned. For now the feature is Mac-only, opt-in, and aims to balance productivity gains with the sense of surveillance familiar from Redmond’s tools.