‘There’s no going back’ — still thinking of quitting Chat GPT? Make sure you do these 3 things first | Tech Radar

Overview

‘There’s no going back’ — still thinking of quitting Chat GPT? Make sure you do these 3 things first

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The rush to quit Chat GPT after Open AI’s controversial Pentagon deal may have cooled (the app is already back at the top of the App Store charts) but some users are still leaving.

At least one senior Open AI manager resigned over the agreement, and CEO Sam Altman has since admitted the deal was "rushed" and has revised parts of it.

Chat GPT quitters seem eager to reward Anthropic for its refusal to bow to the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted use of AI by switching to Claude en masse. However, Claude’s more limited access to its most powerful models, compared to Chat GPT’s all-you-can-eat buffet, may have come as a shock to many — although it might actually be a good thing.

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If you’re thinking about quitting Chat GPT, don’t just delete your account. There are a few important things you should do first to protect your data and avoid losing information you might want later.

In particular, you may want to export your Chat GPT data, copy your stored memories, and delete your chat history before closing your account — below you'll find details of how to do all three.

If you’ve chosen Claude as your replacement for Chat GPT, you’ll be pleased to learn that it comes with a menu option for importing your memories (the things Chat GPT remembers about you across chats) into your new chatbot.

You might be hoping that you can just press a button and it will be done automatically, but it’s a little more complicated than that — and a bit messier.

When you first open Claude, it will ask if you’d like to use its memory feature. Choose 'Use memory.' Then, in the web interface, click your name at the bottom-left of the screen. Choose Settings, then Capabilities from the menus that appear.

In the Memory section you’ll see an option to Import memory from other AI providers. Click Start Import. You’ll see a piece of text that you’re asked to copy and paste into Chat GPT. This will prompt Chat GPT to reveal all your stored memories. Paste the results into the box provided.

You don’t have to, but you may want to get a copy of all your Chat GPT data before you pull the plug on your account. The good news is that you can download everything, but the bad news is that you can’t get it instantly — you have to submit a request.

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Open AI can take a while to process that request, but it will email you a download link after a few days. The link expires 24 hours after you receive it.

To request the link, click on your profile icon in the bottom-left corner of the Chat GPT web interface, then select Settings, and Data Controls. Click the Export button next to the Export data option, then follow the on-screen instructions.

Obviously we’d recommend following step 1 first, but it is possible to delete all your chat data before you quit Chat GPT if you want to be sure that nothing remains after you leave.

To do this, head back to the Data Controls settings and click Delete all, which is next to the Delete all chats option.

Be aware that while a deleted chat is immediately removed from your chat history view, it can take Open AI up to 30 days to actually delete your chats after you select this option. However, that doesn’t mean you can restore a chat once you select it — there’s no going back.

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Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at Tech Radar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, i More, Mac Format, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.

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Key Takeaways

• ‘There’s no going back’ — still thinking of quitting Chat GPT

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• The rush to quit Chat GPT after Open AI’s controversial Pentagon deal may have cooled (the app is already back at the top of the App Store charts) but some users are still leaving

• At least one senior Open AI manager resigned over the agreement, and CEO Sam Altman has since admitted the deal was "rushed" and has revised parts of it

• Chat GPT quitters seem eager to reward Anthropic for its refusal to bow to the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted use of AI by switching to Claude en masse