What stays on your phone after an AI chat, and how to remove it
An AI app or a website in your browser stores some data on your phone: a cache, saved settings and sometimes a local copy of recent chats. Clearing it is done in the phone's settings, and it is separate from anything the service keeps on its own servers. Removing the phone copy does not delete the server copy, so check both places.
When a chat opens fast, remembers your settings or shows your last conversation, part of that comes from data saved on your phone. It is worth knowing what that is, because it stays until someone removes it, including when you hand the phone to another person.
On this page
Three places data can live
The first is the app or browser on your phone: cache, cookies, local storage and saved sign-in. The second is the service's servers, where an account history or logs may sit. The third is a backup of your phone, if backups are on. This guide covers the first place, and the service's own privacy page covers the second.
What a website stores in the browser
A site can keep cookies, saved settings and, in some cases, recent chat text in the browser's local storage. That storage belongs to the site and stays after you close the tab. It is removed only when you clear site data or when the site does it.
Clear it on Android
In Chrome, open the menu, then Settings, then Privacy and security, then Delete browsing data. Choose Cookies and site data and Cached images and files. For 1 site only, open Settings, Site settings, All sites and delete that site. For an installed app, open Settings, Apps, choose the app, then Storage, then Clear cache or Clear data.
Clear it on iPhone
For a website, open Settings, Safari, Advanced, then Website Data. On newer versions of iOS the path starts at Settings, Apps, Safari. Search for the site and swipe to delete it. For an app, iPhone has no clear-cache button, so open Settings, General, iPhone Storage, choose the app, and choose Delete App to remove the app and its data.
What clearing does and does not do
Clearing removes saved sign-in, settings and any local chat copy from this phone. It does not delete a history stored on the service's servers, and it does not remove a phone backup. If you use an account, delete the history in the service's own settings as well.
When it matters most
Do this before selling or lending a phone, after using a shared or borrowed device and after a chat about something private. Also use a private tab for a 1-off question: it deletes its own site data when you close it, so there is nothing to clear afterwards.
Questions about the app
Does closing the app delete my chat?
No. Closing hides it. Saved data stays until you clear it or the service removes it.
Does a private tab keep anything?
Not after you close it. The tab's cookies and site data are removed, though the network operator and the service can still see the visit.
Will clearing data sign me out?
Yes, for the sites and apps you clear. You sign in again afterwards, and other sites are not affected.
Is a chat with no account safer for this?
There is no account to attach a history to on a server, so less is tied to you. Local data and cookies on the phone still exist, so the steps above still apply.
Open the chat in a private tab for questions you do not want to keep.
Open the chat first