Gemini could soon offer ChatGPT-like Temporary Chats

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have emerged as popular AI assistants. Both are usually neck-and-neck when it comes to features, but given the pace of innovation, a few things are missing here and there. It seems Google wants to close the gap on its end, as it could bring a ChatGPT-like temporary chat feature to Gemini in the future.

We’ve spotted code within Google app v16.22.44 beta that indicates that Google is working on a temporary chat feature. We managed to activate the feature to give you an early look at it:

In the screenshot above, you can see a new disappearing clock icon right next to the New Chat button in the sidebar (which is an upcoming tablet-friendly feature that hasn’t rolled out yet). You can tap on the icon to presumably start a temporary chat. We couldn’t get the feature to work, but we presume it will work similarly to ChatGPT’s Temporary Chat feature.

When you start a Temporary Chat in ChatGPT, the AI assistant doesn’t display the chat in your chat history, saving you from the trouble of deleting queries from your history. Further, the conversation begins as a blank slate, as ChatGPT won’t be aware of your previous conversations, nor have any past or future memory. However, it will still follow custom instructions if they are enabled. OpenAI may keep a copy of your conversation for up to 30 days for “safety purposes,” but they won’t be used to improve their models. The feature is very similar to what most users recognize as “incognito mode” in their browsers.

Google has yet to share details about the temporary chats feature in Gemini. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.