Analysis of the Content of ChatGPT's Memory: Types of Information, Security Implications, and User Perception

OpenAI's new “memory” feature enables ChatGPT to provide more personalized and relevant interactions by storing user information from the prompts and using it across conversations. While offering improved responses, the memory feature poses privacy and security challenges. This paper reports a three-fold study investigating ChatGPT's memory feature in more detail. First, we utilized the Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior model and distributed a survey to over 135 users to assess their awareness of ChatGPT's memory functionality, attitudes toward privacy implications, and the behavioral changes prompted by perceived risks. Secondly, memory content from over 55 user accounts was analyzed to evaluate the accuracy, relevance, and privacy of the stored data. Finally, we studied the distribution of the stored data across key categories to obtain insights into what kind of information ChatGPT considers relevant and stores. The findings reveal gaps in user understanding of the memory feature, the need for greater transparency, and the challenges of personalizing LLM agents while safeguarding privacy.