Users have begun deleting ChatGPT accounts left, right, and centre following OpenAI’s controversial deal with the US Pentagon.
The announcement has sparked widespread backlash among privacy-conscious users and professionals wary of AI’s potential military use. As the exit grows, many are looking to secure their data or move to alternative AI platforms before closing their accounts for good.
If you’re one of them, don’t rush into it just yet. Whether you’re planning to migrate to another chatbot or step away entirely, there are a few important steps to take first. Exporting your chat history, clearing old conversations, and learning about migration tools like Anthropic’s Claude Memory can make all the difference and prevent you from losing valuable context along the way.
Checklist before leaving ChatGPT
Export data: The most crucial step before saying goodbye to ChatGPT is to export your data. This option allows you to download a complete copy of your chat history, preserving everything from brainstorming sessions to project notes. You never know when a past conversation might come in handy, and once your account is gone, so is your access to that data.
To start, open ChatGPT in a web browser, click your profile icon at the bottom-left, then go to Settings and click Data controls. Scroll down to find the Export data option and hit the Export button. You’ll receive an email with a download link, though the process isn’t immediate, so initiate it early and wait for the file to finish downloading before closing your account.
Delete all chats: While in that menu, you’ll also find an option to delete all chats. This permanently wipes your conversation history from your account, but make sure you’ve successfully downloaded your archive first.
According to OpenAI, it can take up to 30 days for deletion to be completed. The company also notes that it may retain some “de-identified data” or any information required for “security or legal obligations,” without specifying what that might include. This means traces of your data could remain on OpenAI’s systems even after you’ve deleted your account.
Switching to Claude: Anthropic’s new memory tool explained
If you’re ready to leave ChatGPT behind, Anthropic’s Claude might be your next stop, and it just introduced a tool to make switching much easier. The company recently rolled out a Memory tool for paid subscribers that lets users import chat history and preferences from other AI assistants, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.
Anthropic describes it as a way to “switch to Claude without starting over,” allowing users to carry their personal context, tone, and ongoing projects seamlessly into Claude. The process is refreshingly simple: after subscribing, go to the Claude Memory tool page and copy the provided prompt.
Paste it into your current AI chat, for instance, ChatGPT, to generate a summary of your preferences and context. Then copy that result and paste it into Claude’s Memory settings, and you’re done.
Claude will then automatically remember your preferences, maintain separate project contexts to prevent overlap, and give you full visibility and control over what it knows. You can even view and edit its memory directly, ensuring transparency that many ChatGPT users have long requested.
The launch of this tool comes as Anthropic gains popularity among users uneasy about OpenAI’s Pentagon partnership. The company has explicitly stated that it has no plans to work with the military, positioning Claude as a more ethical and privacy-focused alternative.
