Claude Incognito Mode: How to Use Incognito Chats and Delete History

Claude's incognito mode is called an incognito chat. You turn it on with the ghost icon in the upper right corner of a new chat. An incognito chat is not saved to your chat history or to Claude's memory, is never used to train Claude, and is kept by Anthropic for 30 days.

Incognito chats are only one of Claude's privacy controls, and the defaults matter more. Claude, the chatbot from Anthropic, keeps your regular chats until you delete them. Anthropic trains on them only if you allow it in your privacy settings, and it keeps chats flagged for a Usage Policy violation for up to 2 years. This guide covers incognito chats, deleting your Claude history, the training opt-out, exporting or deleting your account, and what Claude collects about you.

The Key Takeaways

• Incognito mode is the ghost icon: start a new chat outside a project and click the ghost in the upper right corner. A black border and an "Incognito chat" label confirm it is on.
• Hidden is not deleted: incognito chats stay out of your history but are kept for 30 days, or longer under an Enterprise organization's custom retention setting.
• No training, ever: incognito chats are not used to improve Claude, even if you allowed model training in your privacy settings.
• No memory in either direction: an incognito chat does not use Claude's memory and is never added to it. Your profile preferences and custom styles still apply.
• Not available in projects: inside a project, turn off Memory in the "+" menu before your first message instead.
• Work accounts are not private from the owner: on Team and Enterprise plans, incognito chats are included in the organization's data exports.
• Every plan has it: Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise.

What Is Claude Incognito Mode?

Claude incognito mode is the incognito chat feature: a temporary conversation that is not saved to your chat history or to Claude's memory. Anthropic launched incognito chats on 11 September 2025 for the Free, Pro, Max and Team plans and added Enterprise on 18 September 2025. Today they are available on every plan, including Ultra.

An incognito chat differs from a regular chat in four ways, according to Anthropic's incognito help article. It is not used for training. It is kept for 30 days. Claude does not pull from it when it searches your past conversations. And it is left out of memory and of your monthly recap.

Incognito does not mean anonymous. You are still signed in to your Anthropic account, and Anthropic still receives your prompts, your IP address and your device details. Chats flagged by Anthropic's automated trust and safety systems are kept for up to 2 years, incognito or not.

How to Start an Incognito Chat in Claude

Starting an incognito chat takes one click, but only from a new chat outside a project.

1. Open Claude and start a new chat outside any project.
2. Find the ghost icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Click the ghost icon. A black border and an Incognito chat label in the upper left corner show that incognito mode is on.
4. Type your prompt and chat as usual.
5. When you are done, click the x in the upper right corner to close the incognito chat.

You cannot reopen an incognito chat after you close it, and you cannot convert it into a regular chat. Copy anything you want to keep before you click the x.

Note: If your account has the new Claude experience, where chat and Cowork tasks run in one conversation, incognito chats open in the previous chat experience. Claude cannot create files or run code in them.

Incognito Chats and Claude Memory

An incognito chat starts without Claude's existing memory and adds nothing to it. Claude can still see your profile information, such as your personal preferences and custom styles. Our guide to how Claude memory works covers what memory stores and how to reset it.

If you want Claude to skip memory but keep the chat, use the per-chat memory switch instead. Start a new chat, click "+" in the message box and turn off Memory before you send your first message. The chat stays in your history and in past-chat search. This is also the only option inside Claude Projects, because the ghost icon does not appear there.

How to Delete Your Claude Chat History

You can delete Claude chats one at a time or several at once, on the web and in the mobile apps. A deleted chat leaves your history immediately and is deleted from Anthropic's back-end systems within 30 days. Projects and account information stay until you delete them or your account.

Delete One Claude Chat

1. Find the conversation in the left sidebar, or click Chats and tasks to see your full history.
2. Hover over the conversation and click the ⋮ button on the right.
3. Select Delete, then click Delete again to confirm.

On iPhone, touch and hold the conversation in your chat list and tap Delete. On Android, open the conversation, tap the ⋮ menu in the top right and tap Delete. Both apps ask you to confirm.

Delete Several Claude Chats at Once

1. Click Chats and tasks in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over a conversation, click the ⋮ button and click Select.
3. Tick the other conversations you want to delete, or click Select all.
4. Click Delete, then Delete again to confirm.

On Android, tap the checklist icon in the top right of your chat list, tick the conversations and tap the trash icon. Anthropic documents no bulk delete for iPhone.

Note: Deleting a chat also keeps it out of future model training. A chat that was already used in a training run stays in the models trained on it.

Export or Permanently Delete Your Claude Account

To erase everything tied to your identity, export your data first and then delete your account. The export includes your chats, projects, memory and account data, but not the original files you uploaded. Deleting the account removes your access to all of it for good.

• To export your data:

1. Open Claude on the web or in Claude Desktop and go to Settings.

2. Go to Privacy.

3. Click Export data.

Anthropic emails a download link to your account address. The link expires 24 hours after it is created and may work only once, so download the file straight away. You cannot start an export from the iPhone or Android app.

• To delete your account:

On a Pro, Max or Ultra plan, cancel your subscription in Billing settings first and wait until the current period ends.

1. Go to Settings, then Account.

2. Click Delete account and follow the prompts.

Account deletion is permanent. You lose your conversations, projects, account information and any remaining usage credits, and the account cannot be recovered.

How to Stop Claude Training on Your Chats

Anthropic uses your Claude chats to train its models only if you allow it. The switch is in Settings, Privacy. Turning it off stops Anthropic using your previous and new chats in future training runs, but data already in a finished or running training run stays there. Chats flagged by Anthropic's safety classifiers may still be used to improve its trust and safety models.

1. Click your name in the lower left corner of Claude and select Settings.
2. Select Privacy.
3. Under Help Improve our AI models, switch the toggle off.

The path is the same in the iPhone and Android apps: your name, Settings, Privacy. If you leave training on, Anthropic may keep your chats in a de-identified form for up to 5 years in its training pipelines, according to Anthropic's retention article.

Note: Rating an answer with thumbs-up or thumbs-down sends the whole conversation to Anthropic as feedback, which it keeps for 5 years. Anthropic says it may use feedback to train its models after de-linking it from your user ID.

Which Claude Privacy Option Should You Use?

Use an incognito chat for one sensitive conversation. Turn off model training to protect every chat you keep. Turn off memory for one chat when you want to keep the chat but not let it shape Claude's view of you. The table compares the options.

Every row has the same exception. Anthropic keeps the inputs and outputs of a flagged chat for up to 2 years and its safety classification scores for up to 7 years, and it can keep chats longer when the law requires it.

What Data Does Claude Actually Track About You?

Signed in, Claude collects your chats and a layer of account and device data around them. The Anthropic privacy policy (effective 10 September 2026) lists these categories.

Inputs and outputs: everything you type or upload, the content of services you connect, and Claude's answers. This includes incognito chats for their 30 days.

Device and connection data: device type, operating system, browser, internet provider, time zone, identifiers and your IP address, including the location Anthropic derives from it.

Account details: your name, email address and phone number from sign-up, plus payment information if you buy a plan.

Usage data: when you use Claude, the pages you view and the links you click, plus log files and error reports. Anthropic's cookies help it recognize you and market its products to you.

Anthropic says it does not "sell" your personal data. It can share it with authorities when it believes disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or prevent harm.

Habits That Reduce What Claude Collects

Settings only go so far. These habits cut what Anthropic can link to you.

• Use a separate email address for Claude. Anthropic stores the name, email and phone number you sign up with, so a dedicated address keeps Claude apart from your main identity.
• Never paste passwords, ID documents or health details. Incognito chats are still kept for 30 days, and flagged chats for up to 2 years.
• Keep client data on a work plan or the API. On the Claude API, Anthropic deletes inputs and outputs within 30 days by default, and Team and Enterprise chats follow your organization's retention policy.
• Use a VPN such as ProtonVPN or NordVPN. Anthropic works out your location from your IP address, and a VPN hides it.
• Clear cookies after each session. Anthropic's cookies recognize returning visitors, and clearing them breaks that link.
• Do not mistake a private browser window for incognito mode. A private window only changes what your browser keeps. A regular chat you have in it, signed in, is still saved to your Claude account.
• Skip the rating buttons on sensitive chats. A thumbs-up or thumbs-down stores the whole conversation for 5 years.

Use Claude in Fello AI Without an Anthropic Account

Every incognito chat still runs on your Anthropic account. If you want Claude with no Anthropic sign-up at all, Fello AI includes Claude alongside ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok in one app for Mac, iPhone and iPad, so there is no Claude account to tie your chats to. Our guide to using Claude without login compares the other routes. Your prompts still reach the model that answers them, so the same rule applies: keep passwords and client data out of any chatbot. Fello AI has a free tier.

Conclusion

Claude gives you real privacy controls, but none of them is the same as anonymity. For one sensitive question, click the ghost icon and open an incognito chat. For every chat you keep, turn off model training in Settings, Privacy, and stay away from the rating buttons. For a clean slate, delete old chats or export your data and delete the account.

If you use Claude on a Mac, our Claude desktop client guide for macOS covers running Claude in a native app instead of a permanently logged-in browser tab.

Gemini and Grok have similar controls, covered in our guides to Gemini incognito mode and Grok incognito mode. Our guide to using AI without giving up your privacy covers the habits that work on every chatbot.

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