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Does a member lose access to chat history, files and canvas if removed from a workspace?

What happens to a user's chats, files, custom GPTs, and canvases if they’re removed from a workspace?

Updated this week

When a user is removed from a ChatGPT workspace, their access to chats, files, canvases, and custom GPTs is revoked — but whether that data is retained and restored upon rejoining depends on the workspace type and any configured retention policy.

Team Workspaces

Data behavior:

  • Chats, files, and canvases are retained indefinitely.

  • When a user is re-added, their data is fully restored.

Custom GPTs:

  • Custom GPTs are transferred to a workspace admin upon user removal.

  • They are not returned automatically upon rejoining, but an admin can reassign ownership.


Enterprise Workspaces (SCIM and Non-SCIM)

Enterprise workspaces — regardless of whether users are managed manually or via SCIM — follow the same retention logic. However, retention duration may vary based on the workspace’s custom configuration.

Default behavior:

  • By default, chats, files, and canvases are retained for 30 days after a user is removed (or deprovisioned via SCIM).

  • If the user is re-added within this window, all their previous content is restored.

  • After 30 days, all data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Custom retention policies:

  • Some Enterprise workspaces have a custom retention period configured, which overrides the default 30-day setting.

  • This retention window may be shorter or longer, depending on the organization's compliance needs.

  • Workspace admins or support contacts can confirm the specific policy in place.

Custom GPTs:

  • As with other plans, custom GPTs are reassigned to a workspace admin when the user is removed.

  • They are not automatically returned to the user upon rejoining, regardless of retention policy.


Canvas Documents

Canvas files (standalone text/code docs created in ChatGPT) follow the same rules as chats:

  • Team: Retained indefinitely.

  • Enterprise: Retained for 30 days by default, or based on the workspace’s custom policy.

  • Restored automatically if the user is re-added within the retention window.

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