Grok Incognito Mode: How to Use Private Chat and Delete Your History

Grok's incognito mode is called Private Chat. You turn it on with the ghost icon in the top right corner. A private chat never appears in your history, is never used to train Grok, and is deleted from xAI's systems within 30 days.

Private Chat is only one of Grok's privacy controls, and the defaults matter more. Grok, the chatbot from Elon Musk's xAI, saves your regular chats until you delete them. xAI may use them to train its models, and a limited number of xAI staff may read them, according to the xAI consumer FAQ. This guide covers Private Chat, deleting your Grok history, the training opt-out, using Grok without an account, and the separate settings for Grok inside X.

The Key Takeaways

• Incognito mode is Private Chat: click or tap the ghost icon in the top right corner. The chat is not saved to your history and is not used for training.
• Nothing is gone instantly: private chats and deleted chats are removed from xAI's systems within 30 days, unless xAI must keep them for legal, compliance or safety reasons.
• Training is on by default: turn off Improve the model in Settings, Data Controls. The opt-out covers new chats only.
• Feedback overrides the opt-out: a thumbs-up or thumbs-down can send that conversation to training even after you opt out.
• No login means Fast mode only: logged-out chats are kept anonymously, and outside the EU and UK you cannot opt them out of training.
• Grok on X is a different service: its training and history settings live in X's Privacy & Safety menu, not in Grok's.

What Is Grok Incognito Mode?

Grok incognito mode is the Private Chat feature on grok.com and in the Grok apps for iPhone and Android. Grok has no setting called "incognito mode". Private Chat is the feature that does the job. xAI says a private conversation "will not be viewable to you and will be deleted from SpaceXAI systems within 30 days." SpaceXAI is the name xAI now uses on its legal pages.

Private Chat also keeps the conversation out of training. The xAI consumer FAQ is explicit: with Private Chat, "your content and interactions are not used for model training." That is a stronger promise than the regular opt-out, which still lets feedback through.

Private Chat is not deletion on the spot. The xAI privacy policy (effective 24 August 2026) has one exception to the 30 days. xAI can keep a private chat longer when it is "necessary for legal, compliance, or safety purposes." xAI also collects technical data such as your IP address, device type and browser on every visit, private or not.

How to Turn On Private Chat in Grok

Turning on Private Chat takes one click on grok.com or one tap in the Grok app.

1. Open grok.com or the Grok app and sign in.
2. Look at the top right corner of the screen for the ghost icon.
3. Click or tap the ghost icon to switch the chat to Private Chat.
4. Type your prompt. The conversation will not appear in your history.

You cannot reopen a private chat after you close it. Grok does not show private chats in your history, so copy anything you want to keep before you leave the conversation.

How to Delete Your Grok Chat History

You can delete Grok chats one at a time or all at once, on the web and in the app. Deleted chats disappear from your history straight away and are removed from xAI's systems within 30 days.

Delete One Grok Chat

• In the Grok app: tap your profile picture to open your conversation history. Tap and hold the conversation, then select Delete Conversation.
• On grok.com: open your conversation history with the history icon in the top right corner (three horizontal lines and a magnifying glass). Click the trash button next to the chat.

Delete All Grok Chat History

1. Open Settings on grok.com or in the Grok app.
2. Go to Data Controls.
3. Select Delete All Conversations and confirm.

The same Data Controls page lets you download your data and delete your whole account. You can also delete your account at accounts.x.ai. A deleted account can be restored within 30 days by logging in again. Files you uploaded are managed separately at grok.com/files.

Can You Permanently Delete Grok History?

Mostly, but not on your schedule. The xAI consumer FAQ says deleted conversations are removed "within 30 days" with two exceptions. xAI keeps conversations it must hold for safety, security or legal reasons. It also keeps conversations that have been "de-identified or pseudoanonymized and disassociated from your account." Those copies are no longer linked to you, but they are not destroyed.

How to Stop Grok Training on Your Chats

Grok uses your chats for training by default. The Improve the model switch turns that off for every new conversation. It does not affect chats you had before you switched it off.

1. Open Settings on grok.com or in the Grok app.
2. Go to Data Controls.
3. Turn off Improve the model.
4. Optional: turn off Personalize Grok using X to stop Grok using your X data to tailor answers.

Note: Rating an answer with thumbs-up or thumbs-down is feedback. xAI says feedback "may be used for training purposes" even after you opt out, so skip the rating buttons on anything sensitive.

Opting out does not stop people reading your chats. According to the xAI consumer FAQ, "a limited number of our authorized personnel" may review conversations to improve the model, investigate security incidents and misuse, and meet legal obligations.

How to Use Grok Without an Account or Login

You can use Grok without an account on grok.com. Open the site and start typing. No email, phone number or X account is needed, and nothing you type is linked to a personal profile.

Logged out, you only get Fast mode. On grok.com the mode menu marks Auto, Expert and Heavy as needing an upgrade, and Expert and Heavy are where Grok 4.7 runs. Our guide to what Grok's free plan includes covers the limits in detail.

Logged-out use has two trade-offs for privacy. xAI says it "may collect and retain your content on an anonymous basis." Outside the EU and UK, you cannot opt logged-out chats out of training. You also get no history, because xAI does not keep logged-out chats for you after the session.

Use Grok in Fello AI Without an xAI Account

If you want Grok without an xAI account or a linked X profile, Fello AI includes Grok alongside ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in one app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. You sign in to Fello AI, not to xAI or X, so Grok never sees your X profile. Your prompts still go to 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, and the paid plan costs $11.99 a month or $89.99 a year on the App Store.

Grok on X Has Separate Privacy Settings

Grok inside the X app and on x.com is governed by X's privacy policy, not xAI's. Turning off training on grok.com does nothing for Grok on X, and the reverse is also true. The X Help Center lists three controls.

• Training opt-out: in X, go to Settings and privacy, Privacy & Safety, Data sharing and personalization, Grok & Third-party Collaborators. Under Data Sharing, deselect the option that allows your public data and Grok interactions to be used for training and fine-tuning.
• Personalization opt-out: in the same Grok & Third-party Collaborators menu, deselect Allow X to personalize your experience with Grok.
• Delete your Grok on X history: go to Privacy & Safety, Data sharing and personalization, Grok, then Delete Conversation History. X removes it within 30 days, unless it must keep it for security or legal reasons.

Two more details matter for privacy on X. Making your X account private with Protect your posts also stops your posts being used to train Grok. And if you add @Grok to an encrypted X Chat group, X and xAI get access to every message sent in that group until you remove Grok.

Logging In to Grok With X Can Share Your History

Signing in to grok.com or the Grok app with your X account links the two services. According to the xAI privacy policy, X can then share your public profile, username, numeric X ID, date of birth, X Premium status and "your Grok on X conversation history" with xAI. If you want the two kept apart, sign up for Grok with an email address instead.

Shared Grok Links Can End Up on Google

A shared Grok conversation is a public web page. Anyone with the link can open it. xAI warns that a link posted publicly "may be subject to indexing by a search engine (e.g., Google)." In August 2025, Forbes found that Google had indexed more than 370,000 shared Grok conversations, some with names, personal details and at least one password.

You can revoke share links at any time.

1. Log in at grok.com.
2. Go to grok.com/share-links.
3. Click Remove next to every link you no longer want public.

Which Grok Privacy Option Should You Use?

Use Private Chat for one sensitive conversation. Turn off Improve the model to protect every future conversation. Use Grok logged out when you want no link to an account and Fast mode is enough. The table compares the options with Grok's default settings.

Every row has the same exception. xAI can keep data longer for legal, compliance or safety reasons.

What Data Does Grok Collect About You?

Logged in, Grok collects your chats and a layer of account and device data around them. The xAI privacy policy lists these categories.

xAI says it does not sell your data. It does share personal information with service providers, related companies and, in a merger or acquisition, a buyer. The privacy policy also asks you not to put personal information in your prompts.

Habits That Reduce Grok Tracking

• Use a separate email address for Grok. Signing up with an email instead of X, Google or Apple keeps Grok apart from your main identity and your X history.
• Never paste passwords, health details or client data. Deleted chats can stay up to 30 days, and staff may review conversations.
• Use a VPN such as ProtonVPN or NordVPN. xAI works out your general location from your IP address, and a VPN hides it.
• Clear cookies after each session. xAI's cookies support analytics and targeted advertising, and clearing them stops a session being recognized later.
• Use a separate browser profile for AI tools. A dedicated profile, or a Firefox container, keeps Grok apart from your everyday browsing.

Conclusion

Grok does not make privacy the default, but it gives you real controls. For one sensitive question, open a Private Chat with the ghost icon. For every chat, turn off Improve the model in Data Controls and stay away from the rating buttons. For the least connection to your identity, use Grok logged out, and accept Fast mode only. If you use Grok on X, repeat the opt-outs in X's own settings, and clear out old share links at grok.com/share-links.

The same approach works on other chatbots. Our guides to Gemini incognito mode and Claude incognito mode cover them step by step. Our guide to using AI without giving up your privacy covers the habits that work everywhere. If you use Grok on a Mac, our Grok desktop client guide for macOS covers the ways to run it outside the browser. Our guide to using Grok on a Mac without an X subscription covers the app route.

FAQ