--- title: "How Grok's memory works" description: "Grok memory explained from official sources: what Grok remembers across conversations, the controls xAI documents, and how deletion works." canonical: https://past.dev/blog/grok-memory date: 2026-09-03 category: Research authors: The past.dev team --- # How Grok's memory works Grok has remembered conversations since April 2025. The launch post from the official Grok account reads: "Grok now remembers your conversations. When you ask for recommendations or advice, you'll get personalized responses" ([@grok, April 16, 2025](https://x.com/grok/status/1912670182012801156)). Grok memory is one of two personalization channels: the other feeds on your X activity, and each channel has its own switch. This teardown maps what the official pages document about both, where every control lives, and what remains undocumented as of September 2026. One naming note first. xAI built Grok; SpaceX announced its acquisition of xAI on February 2, 2026 ([xAI joins SpaceX](https://x.ai/news/xai-joins-spacex)), and the consumer pages now name SpaceXAI LLC as the operator ([Consumer FAQs](https://x.ai/legal/faq)). The documents quoted below are the same pages under the new name. ## Does Grok have memory? Yes. Grok recalls past conversations to personalize recommendations and advice, per the [launch announcement](https://x.com/grok/status/1912670182012801156). A second post in the same thread states the visibility model: "Memories are transparent: you can see exactly what Grok knows and choose what to forget," and describes the forget action as tapping the book icon beneath a message that drew on memories ([@grok](https://x.com/grok/status/1912670183472476653)). This is [cross-session memory](/glossary/cross-session-memory), the same product category as ChatGPT's saved memories, which we document separately in [how ChatGPT's memory works](/blog/chatgpt-memory). The launch scope is worth recording. TechCrunch's launch report described the feature as a beta on grok.com and the Grok iOS and Android apps, switched off through the Data Controls settings page, and unavailable to EU and UK users at the time ([TechCrunch, April 16, 2025](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/xai-adds-a-memory-feature-to-grok)). The current official pages do not state regional availability for memory, so EU and UK users have to check their own Settings for the toggle. Memory also presumes an account. The consumer FAQ states that people who use Grok without logging in "will not have their data retained for their use after the session" ([Consumer FAQs](https://x.ai/legal/faq)). ## What Grok remembers, and which data personalizes it The official pages document two distinct inputs: - **Your Grok conversations.** The memory feature works from your chat history with Grok and carries it into later sessions ([announcement](https://x.com/grok/status/1912670182012801156)). History itself stays a separate, viewable surface: on iOS you reach it by tapping your profile picture, and on grok.com through the history icon in the top right corner ([Consumer FAQs](https://x.ai/legal/faq)). - **Your X data.** A separate toggle named "Personalize Grok using X" governs whether your X data and interactions personalize Grok. On the mobile app it sits under Settings, then Data Controls; on grok.com under Settings, then Data ([Consumer FAQs](https://x.ai/legal/faq)). Inside the X platform, Grok runs under X's terms and privacy policy rather than SpaceXAI's ([Privacy Policy, effective August 24, 2026](https://x.ai/legal/privacy-policy)). X's help page states that X may share your public profile, public posts, engagement, interests, and your Grok interactions with xAI, both to train models and to personalize Grok ([About Grok on X](https://help.x.com/en/using-x/about-grok)). ## The controls the FAQ documents All paths below come from the [Consumer FAQs](https://x.ai/legal/faq) unless linked otherwise. - **Turn conversation memory off.** Launch coverage places the switch on the settings Data Controls page, the same hub the FAQ documents for every data toggle. There is no dedicated help page for the memory feature as of September 2026. - **Forget one memory.** Tap the book icon beneath the message that used it ([@grok](https://x.com/grok/status/1912670183472476653)). - **Keep a conversation out of everything.** Private Chat, the ghost icon in the top right corner: the conversation never enters your visible history, is excluded from model training, and is deleted from SpaceXAI systems within 30 days. - **Delete one conversation.** On mobile, tap and hold the conversation name, then choose "Delete Conversation." On grok.com, use the trash button next to it on the history page. - **Delete everything.** Settings, then Data Controls, then "Delete All Conversations" on mobile; the equivalent buttons sit in Settings on grok.com, alongside account deletion. Deletion takes up to 30 days to clear SpaceXAI systems, a window the [privacy policy](https://x.ai/legal/privacy-policy) repeats with carve-outs for legal, compliance, and safety retention. - **Keep chats out of training.** Deselect "Improve the model" under Settings, then Data Controls (mobile) or Settings, then Data (web). Feedback you volunteer afterward may still be used for training. For how these retention windows compare across assistants, see our [AI data retention guide](/guides/ai-data-retention). ## Grok memory on X The X integration carries its own controls, documented by X rather than by xAI ([About Grok on X](https://help.x.com/en/using-x/about-grok)): - **Personalization opt-out.** In X settings: "Privacy & Safety," then "Data sharing and personalization," then "Grok & Third-party Collaborators," then deselect "Allow X to personalize your experience with Grok." - **Training opt-out.** Same menu, under "Data Sharing": deselect the option allowing your public data and your Grok interactions to be used for training and fine-tuning. - **Delete Grok history on X.** Same menu, then "Grok," then "Delete Conversation History." Deleted interactions are removed within 30 days unless kept for security or legal reasons. - **Availability.** "Grok is available in all countries where X is available," per the same page. That sentence covers the assistant on X; it makes no promise about the memory feature's regions. ## What no page documents - No standalone memory dashboard is described anywhere official: review and forgetting happen in the chat surface, per the announcement thread. - No caps or expiry are published. Nothing states how many memories Grok keeps, how long they persist, or whether old ones age out. - The consumer FAQ (dated May 12, 2025 on the page) covers the X personalization toggle and every deletion control yet contains no conversation-memory section, and the separate product FAQ (updated August 27, 2026) has none either ([FAQ, Grok website and apps](https://docs.x.ai/grok/faq)). - The business documentation describes workspaces and sharing without stating any memory behavior ([Grok.com User Guide](https://docs.x.ai/grok/user-guide)). ## For builders: when the memory has to be yours Grok's memory personalizes Grok; it is not infrastructure your own product can call. If you are building an assistant or agent and need this capability inside your own product, past.dev is a memory API for that job: POST /api/v1/ingest accepts raw text with its original timestamp, entity resolution links mentions of the same person across sources, and POST /api/v1/recall returns ranked, dated evidence with sources and one of four status values (Supported, Conflicted, NoKnownSupport, UnknownBecauseDegraded). Facts carry event time, validity windows, and supersession links, and deployment is managed or self-hosted in your own Postgres. Start with the [Memory API quickstart](/docs/memory-api/quickstart) and the [benchmarks](/benchmarks).