OpenAI adds Computer History to the ChatGPT macOS app
OpenAI has added a new Computer History feature to the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS, according to The Verge. The feature records user activity such as clicks and keystrokes to build a timeline that ChatGPT and Codex can reference for assistance, automation suggestions, and resuming unfinished tasks.
Why it matters: This expands ChatGPT from a reactive assistant into a more stateful desktop tool that can learn from prior user activity and act with richer context. It also raises meaningful privacy, consent, and data-governance questions because the feature uses sensitive on-device behavior as training or reference data for AI assistance.
Sources
- New ChatGPT Feature Collects Every Keystroke You Make Futurism · August 17, 2026
- ChatGPT’s Computer History tracks your clicks and keystrokes The Verge · August 16, 2026
Related stories
Independent events that offer a meaningful comparison, without implying that one caused the other.
-
OpenAI launches a personal finance feature in ChatGPT with bank account connections
OpenAI previously launched a personal finance feature in ChatGPT with bank account connections, an independent example of the product expanding into workflows that depend on sensitive user data and higher-trust permissions.
-
Block open-sources Berd, a desktop workspace for AI agents across models and tools
Block's Berd release is independent evidence that desktop AI tools can instead emphasize local conversation storage and direct access to local files, repositories, and tools across macOS, Windows, and Linux.
-
Harvey adds user memory to its AI legal platform
Harvey's separate August 18 memory rollout offers independent evidence that persistent user context is becoming a concrete product mechanism, with both launches highlighting utility gains alongside trust and data-governance concerns.
Connections
Context and precedents—not claims of causation or corroboration.
-
OpenAI launches six job-specific Codex tools for white-collar work
As context for the later Computer History feature, OpenAI had earlier launched six job-specific tools inside its Codex app, showing a precedent for packaging Codex with workflow context for professional assistance and task support.