ChatGPT just got a new feature that sounds like a productivity booster but might make privacy advocates spit out their coffee. On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled Computer History, now rolling out to the ChatGPT Mac app - but only for Pro, Business, and Enterprise accounts. This opt-in skill captures your activities across apps and websites on your Mac, then turns them into memories and a timeline you can weave into your conversations with ChatGPT and the Codex coding tool. Because what could possibly go wrong?

Computer History is the shiny replacement for the ChatGPT Chronicle feature, which monitored your screen activity. The new version uses fewer tokens and offers more privacy controls, and unlike Chronicle - which took screenshots - Computer History records your interactions with apps and websites without capturing your screen, microphone input, or system audio. So, it's like a diary that writes itself, minus the embarrassing photos.

With this timeline, you can ask questions about recent work, pick up where you left off, understand your work habits based on app and website usage, and even turn workflows into new skills. Handy for ChatGPT requests or Codex coding projects - because who needs to remember what they were doing five minutes ago?

OpenAI describes it as an "interaction-event stream from allowed apps and websites," capturing clicks, typing, keyboard shortcuts, app switches, and context from macOS's accessibility system. These events are periodically summarized into text and local memory files. The timeline organizes your day by day and time, showing titles, summaries, apps used, suggested skills, and options to delete items or view memory files in Finder.

To enable it, head to Settings > Integrations > Computer History in the ChatGPT Mac app. Turn it on, review the privacy details, enable Memories (it's required), and choose which apps and websites to include. Then set up macOS permissions. Sounds simple enough - and mildly terrifying.

But here's the rub: Computer History is a potential privacy risk. It's capturing what you do, where you go, and which tasks you handle - professionally and personally. OpenAI has added some guardrails: it's opt-in, you choose which apps to record (blocking sensitive ones), you can pause or disable it anytime, and you can clear history. But there's a catch: "Computer History files can contain sensitive information. They are not encrypted by Computer History, and other programs running as your MacOS user may be able to access them." So, while OpenAI might not be spying, savvy hackers could potentially snoop on your digital footprints.

That lack of encryption is a bit of a red flag. You might want to exclude any sources you don't want included and secure your Mac. And maybe use Computer History selectively - at least until you figure out if it's a genuine productivity boost or just a high-tech way to feel watched.