OpenAI's Computer History Watches Your Mac So You Stop Re-explaining Yourself
ChatGPT's Computer History replaces the screenshot-based Chronicle preview with an event-driven system that tracks your work across apps and websites without ever capturing your screen.
- Computer History is now live in the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac, tracking activity across apps and websites to give ChatGPT persistent context.
- It replaces the Chronicle research preview but uses interaction events (clicks, typing, app switches) instead of screenshots, requiring no Screen Recording permission.
- A timeline view lets you browse past activity by day, ask questions about your history, and convert repeated workflows into reusable automations.
- Event files are deleted after 48 hours; generated memories are stored as local Markdown files and are never used for model training.
- Available now to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users globally; EEA, UK, and Switzerland access coming in the next few weeks.
- Off by default; Business/Enterprise admins must enable it before individual users can opt in via Settings → Integrations.
OpenAI just shipped Computer History, a new feature in the ChatGPT desktop app that watches what you do across your Mac's apps and websites, then feeds that context back into every future conversation. The pitch is simple: stop re-explaining yourself. ChatGPT already knows what you were working on.
The problem it actually solves
Every developer has been there. You open ChatGPT mid-task and spend the first few messages explaining the situation: the file you were editing, the error you hit, the Slack thread you just read. That context tax adds up. Computer History turns your activity across apps and websites into memories and a timeline that ChatGPT and Codex can reference. The goal is to make that re-explanation loop disappear entirely.
The feature is a direct successor to Chronicle, an earlier research preview that worked but came with significant baggage. Chronicle captured screen context locally, then periodically used Codex to summarize recent activity into memories, processing selected screenshot frames and OCR text extracted from those screenshots. The feature could quickly consume rate limits and increased exposure to prompt injection attacks from on-screen content. Computer History is a rebuilt system, not a rename.
Screenshots are out. Events are in.
The architectural shift here is the real story. Computer History creates an interaction-event stream from allowed apps and websites. Events can include clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, app switches, and context that macOS exposes through its accessibility system. No screen recording permission required.