ChatGPT has a new security feature called Lockdown Mode, but OpenAI is clear about one thing from the start: most people don’t need to turn it on.
The new mode is designed for users who face unusually high digital risk, such as journalists, activists, or people working in sensitive environments. For everyone else, OpenAI says the standard protections built into ChatGPT are already enough.
What is Lockdown Mode in ChatGPT?
Lockdown Mode is essentially a high-security setting that restricts what ChatGPT can do. When enabled, the system behaves more conservatively to reduce the risk of exploitation, manipulation, or unintended data exposure. OpenAI describes this as shrinking the product’s attack surface, even if that means limiting useful features.
One of the biggest changes affects web access. Web browsing is restricted to cached content only, which prevents ChatGPT from pulling live information from the internet. That reduces the risk of sensitive data being transmitted, but it also means search results can be incomplete or outdated.
Image handling is also tightened. ChatGPT can no longer include images in its responses, although users can still upload their own images and continue using image generation tools.
Deep Research, which allows more complex multi-step analysis, is disabled entirely, as is Agent Mode, which would otherwise allow the system to carry out more autonomous actions.
Other restrictions focus on networking and files. Canvas-generated code cannot be approved to access the network, and ChatGPT cannot download files for data analysis. It can still work with files you manually upload, but it won’t fetch anything on its own.
Together, these limits are meant to reduce how much the system can reach outward or act independently.
Who can use Lockdown Mode right now?
Lockdown Mode is currently available to ChatGPT Enterprise, Edu, ChatGPT for Healthcare, and ChatGPT for Teachers. OpenAI says it plans to roll the feature out to consumer and team plans in the coming months.
For organizations, Lockdown Mode is managed at the workspace level. Admins can create a custom role specifically for Lockdown Mode and assign it to selected users, allowing tighter controls without changing settings for everyone.
In other ChatGPT news, the platform recently added the ability to steer Deep Research using content from your own sites and apps, giving more control over how results are gathered. At the same time, changes to ad settings for free accounts mean you can avoid ads, but your usage limits may shift.
