ChatGPT launches Computer History to track Mac activity and automate workflows for paid users

ChatGPT Can Now Track Your Mac Activity, Take Actions Based on a Saved Timeline

OpenAI's latest feature for ChatGPT's macOS app allows the AI tool to create a timeline of your Mac activity and use that information to respond to queries or automate tasks. Computer History is available for ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users at launch. You can use it to "ask natural questions about recent work, pick up where you left off, understand patterns in how you work, and turn repeated workflows into skills or automations," OpenAI says. Computer History is disabled by default; users must enable Computer History and Memories from app settings for it to work. Pro users can turn them on manually by going to Settings > Integrations > Computer History. Business and Enterprise users can follow the same steps, provided their administrator has approved the feature. How Does ChatGPT's Computer History Work? To record your Mac activity, Computer History tracks your clicks, typing, app switches, and other movements across allowed apps and websites. It then organizes the information into Memory files and daily summaries, which ChatGPT can tap when prompted. Samples prompts shared by OpenAI include: "Give me a list of tasks I've worked on today and their status," "Prepare a summary of what I did yesterday for standup," or "Where can I find the proposal document I was looking for earlier today?" Temporary Memory files created by Computer History will be retained for 48 hours, while all other details will be retained until you manually delete them. Once enabled, you can manage all operations related to the feature from Settings > Computer History. As OpenAI notes, "Computer History replaces the earlier Chronicle research preview," which used screenshots (similar to Microsoft Recall). "Computer History records interaction events and does not capture your screen or audio." OpenAI warns that the data collected by the feature isn't encrypted, and other apps and websites running on your Mac may be able to access it. "Protect your Mac account and exclude sources you do not want included," it says. The feature is already available to Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscribers in the US and most other regions worldwide. Access in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland will follow in the coming weeks, OpenAI said in an X post. Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

OpenAI ditches Recall-style screenshot surveillance for friendly keylogging

If you want to record whatever you do on a computer, send those records to OpenAI, use more ChatGPT tokens, and increase your vulnerability to prompt injection, then OpenAI has something for you. It's called Computer History, an opt-in way to record your computer interactions across apps and websites as memories organized on a timeline. Why would you want to do so? Maybe you found Chronicle, the predecessor of Computer History which compiled similar histories using screenshots, a bit too intrusive but don't mind Computer History's approach - recording input events and storing them unencrypted locally for 48 hours (or more), with a brief visit to OpenAI's servers. Maybe you're not bothered by the warning OpenAI includes in its documentation: "Computer History files can contain sensitive information. They are not encrypted by Computer History, and other programs running as your macOS user may be able to access them." Perhaps, having given OpenAI's Codex and GPT Work the run of your computer, you're already sold on the suggestion that storing your computer activity in memory files and arranging those interactions in a timeline will improve ChatGPT responses, surface opportunities for automation, and make it easier to resume prior work. Computer History is, to put it bluntly, a keylogging and event capture system. There was a time before eyeglass cameras, license plate readers, surveillance capitalism, and police drones when such snooping might have provoked an outcry from privacy advocates. But the tech industry has found it can outsource surveillance to its own customers and in so doing make the panopticon harder to protest once it becomes a personal choice. "Computer History creates an interaction-event stream from allowed apps and websites," OpenAI's documentation explains. "Events can include clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, app switches, and context that macOS exposes through its accessibility system. Computer History periodically turns these events into text summaries and local memory files." The AI biz makes a point of noting that Computer History does not capture screen images, microphone input, or system audio. Nor does it capture private-mode browsing. Off by default, Computer History is available for ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS. Pro users can enable it individually; Business and Enterprise users need an admin to approve it. It's not available currently in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, or the United Kingdom or to those accessing ChatGPT via API key or Amazon Bedrock. There are circumstances in which OpenAI suggests Computer History users might want to suspend the service if they have some scruples about capturing user activity in apps and websites without permission. "Turn it off during communications with other people unless you have their prior express consent," the company advises, perhaps in acknowledgement of legal risk. "Consider pausing it or excluding apps that contain sensitive health, financial, or personal information." Computer History interaction events are supposed to be saved locally for up to 48 hours before being deleted by ChatGPT and Codex. Events, however, get sent to OpenAI servers to generate memories, and those may be stored locally for longer periods of time and may be used in future chats that get passed back to OpenAI. "OpenAI does not retain those event files after processing unless required by law and does not use them for training," the company says. While it has opposed demands for chat logs, it has nonetheless provided chat logs in response to legal process. Computer History adds cost because it uses tokens during the summarization of activities and the creation of memory data. It also expands the prompt injection attack surface. "Computer History increases the risk of prompt injection from content in apps and websites," the company says. "For example, if you visit a website containing malicious instructions, ChatGPT or Codex might follow those instructions." But at least you get a nice timeline of your recent activity. ®

ChatGPT can now remember what users do on their Mac

ChatGPT now turns Mac activity into memories, timelines and reusable workflows OpenAI is giving ChatGPT a new way to understand how you actually work on your computer. Called Computer History, the feature turns activity across apps and websites into a timeline and memories that ChatGPT and Codex can use later. The idea is fairly simple: instead of asking ChatGPT to remember something you previously discussed, you can ask it about work you recently did on your Mac. The feature can help you pick up where you left off, understand patterns in how you work, and even turn repetitive workflows into reusable skills or automations. Recommended Videos The rollout began on August 13 and is now rolling out globally to Pro, Business, and Enterprise members. In the next few weeks, users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland will get access. OpenAI announced the debut in a series of X posts, describing Computer History as a development of the Chronicle research preview. The new version uses fewer tokens and provides better privacy protections than the previous preview, the company says. The computer history becomes a timeline ChatGPT can understand Computer History records interaction events across apps and websites, rather than continuously capturing what is happening on your screen. OpenAI says it does not capture your screen or audio, which is an important distinction for anyone who is understandably uncomfortable with the idea of an AI watching their desktop. The feature is also opt-in. Your history only starts being collected after you choose to turn it on, and you can decide which apps and websites contribute to the history. The screenshot says users can also view and pause collection from the macOS menu bar and inspect or delete their history whenever they want. That gives the feature a useful middle ground. ChatGPT gets enough context to understand what you have been doing without simply recording everything on your screen. It could make ChatGPT much more useful for repetitive work The bigger promise is what happens after ChatGPT understands your working patterns. Instead of explaining the same process every time, you could ask it to look at how you previously completed a task and turn those steps into a reusable skill or automation. The example in the screenshot shows exactly that approach, with ChatGPT suggesting that a user's launch-update workflow could become a reusable skill. Computer History replaces the earlier Chronicle research preview, but OpenAI describes it as a rebuilt system rather than simply a renamed version. Chronicle relied on screenshots, while Computer History records interaction events instead. There are also some limitations. The feature is currently described as being off by default for ChatGPT Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in the macOS app, and Business and Enterprise administrators must explicitly grant access before members can enable it. The screenshot also says it is not currently available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. The interesting shift here is that ChatGPT is moving from remembering conversations to remembering workflows. And if that works as intended, it could make the computer itself part of the context window.