A U.S. judge lifted a 2025 order forcing OpenAI to keep deleted ChatGPT chats, ending a privacy clash with The New York Times.

A U.S. judge has lifted a May 2025 court order requiring OpenAI to preserve deleted ChatGPT conversations, allowing most users to permanently delete their chat history again. The change follows a joint agreement between OpenAI and The New York Times, ending a controversial data preservation mandate tied to a copyright lawsuit. While future deletions are now permanent, previously retained data from flagged accounts remains accessible to the plaintiffs as evidence. OpenAI had criticized the original order as overly broad and harmful to user privacy. The lawsuit continues, with discovery ongoing, and the outcome could influence data governance in AI.