Memory everywhere
Claude Memory Everywhere: Chat, Cowork, and Who Controls It
The memory you use in chat is the same memory Claude Cowork uses, so context carries between conversations and cloud tasks. Claude stores it as short topic files under Memory settings, where you can read, edit, or delete any of them. It is on by default for Free, Pro, and Max; sensitive topics are off until you opt in; Team and Enterprise admins gate availability.
Key facts
Chat memory and Claude Cowork memory are the same memory, not two stores that sync.
Memory is a list of short topic files in Settings > Memory that you can read, edit, or delete individually.
Sensitive topics are excluded by default and only save going forward if you opt in.
On by default for Free, Pro, and Max; on Team and Enterprise, admins control availability and it stays off until a user enables it.
"the memory you use in chat is the same as in Claude Cowork"Claude by Anthropic
One memory across chat and Cowork
The change Anthropic announced is small to describe and large in practice: Claude Cowork now uses the same memory as chat. Previously, a conversation and a Cowork task were separate contexts, so anything you had explained in chat had to be re-explained before Cowork could act on it. Now, when Cowork runs a task in the cloud, what Claude remembers from your chats is there, and what comes up during the task carries back into chat.
The practical effect is that briefing Claude becomes a one-time cost rather than a per-surface cost. If you explain in chat how your team defines a metric, decks and documents that Cowork builds afterwards use that definition. If you brainstorm the shape of an event in chat, Cowork already knows the headcount and the city when it builds the logistics doc.
This also means the memory audit habit matters more than it did. One store feeding two surfaces is convenient, but a wrong or stale topic now reaches further.
Memory updates as you chat
Claude now adds topics to memory while you are chatting rather than summarizing a conversation once it ends. Mention that a deadline moved, and the next conversation already knows it without a "remember this" instruction.
That is a meaningful shift from the older model, where memory was a synthesis assembled from chat history after the fact. It shortens the delay between telling Claude something and Claude acting on it, and it makes the stored unit a topic rather than a rolling summary of everything.
You can still pause memory or reset it at any time.
See, edit, and delete topic by topic
Everything Claude remembers appears as a list of files under Topics in Memory settings. Each file is short, and each one can be read, edited, or deleted on its own. You no longer have to choose between living with a wrong memory and resetting the whole thing.
Anthropic's framing of why this matters is worth keeping: a fix pays off everywhere. Correct your company's old name in one topic file and every conversation from then on gets it right, across both chat and Cowork.
Use this the way you would use any small config directory. Skim it periodically, delete topics tied to finished work, and correct facts in place rather than arguing with Claude in conversation.
Sensitive topics are off by default
By default, Claude does not store topics related to personal or sensitive subject matter. Anthropic's list includes health, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics, gender identity, and similar areas.
The setting is opt-in, not opt-out. If those are the topics you are tired of re-explaining, you can turn on include sensitive topics in memory in Memory settings; Anthropic's example is Claude remembering a gluten allergy when suggesting recipes. With the setting on, you get a notice each time Claude saves something in one of these categories, and the setting can be turned off again at any time.
Two limits are worth knowing before you enable it. First, it is not retroactive: Claude saves sensitive topics going forward only, and nothing from before you turned it on is backfilled. Second, some categories stay excluded even with the setting on, including sensitive identification numbers such as Social Security or government ID numbers, criminal history, immigration status, and anything that violates Anthropic's Acceptable Use Policy. Claude tells you when it cannot store something in those categories.
Who has it, and who turns it on
On Free, Pro, and Max, memory is on by default across web, desktop, and mobile. Saving sensitive topics remains off by default on those plans. On iOS and Android, you need the latest app version to get the current behavior.
On Team and Enterprise, control moves up a level: admins decide availability for the organization, and memory is off for individual users until they turn it on themselves. That is two gates, not one. If you are on a managed plan and see no memory topics, check whether your admin has enabled it before assuming a bug.
The control surface for everyone is Settings > Memory, which is where you turn memory on, browse the topic list, and choose whether sensitive topics are included.
What this is not
Memory everywhere is not a larger context window and not a caching feature. It changes what Claude knows at the start of a conversation or task, not how much it can hold during one or what a repeated prompt costs. For context-window sizing, compaction, and prompt caching, use the sibling resource Claude Context.
It is also distinct from Claude Code memory. CLAUDE.md and auto memory are file-based context that lives in your repository and on your machine, written by you and by Claude Code. They are not part of the chat and Cowork topic list, and the September 2026 announcement does not change them.
If you are mapping all of these against each other, start with the memory map.
FAQ
Does Claude Cowork have its own separate memory?
No. Anthropic says the memory you use in chat is the same one Cowork uses. What Claude remembers from your chats is available when Cowork runs a task, and what comes up in Cowork carries back to chat.
Can I delete one thing Claude remembers without resetting everything?
Yes. Memories are stored as individual topic files under Topics in Memory settings, and each one can be read, edited, or deleted on its own. Pausing or resetting all memory is still available.
Does Claude remember health or political information?
Not by default. Sensitive categories such as health, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics, and gender identity are excluded unless you turn on "include sensitive topics in memory". Even then, Claude does not store sensitive ID numbers, criminal history, immigration status, or anything violating the Acceptable Use Policy.
Does turning on sensitive topics apply to past conversations?
No. Claude saves sensitive topics going forward only. Anything from before you turned the setting on is not saved retroactively, and you can turn the setting off again at any time.
Is memory on for Team and Enterprise users?
Not automatically. Admins control availability for the organization, and memory is off for individual users until they turn it on. On Free, Pro, and Max, memory is on by default across web, desktop, and mobile.
Primary Sources
Claude by Anthropic · Blog
Claude's memory works everywhere, and you decide what's in it
Primary reference for shared chat and Cowork memory, topic-level edit and delete, sensitive-topic defaults, and plan availability.
Accessed 2026-09-19
Claude Help Center · Help Center
Use Claude's chat search and memory to build on previous context
Primary reference for Claude app memory, memory summaries, incognito behavior, settings controls, and data handling.
Accessed 2026-07-06
Claude Help Center · Help Center
How can I create and manage projects?
Primary reference for moving chats into or out of Projects and managing project-specific memory summaries.
Accessed 2026-07-06
Claude Help Center · Release notes
Claude release notes
Freshness reference for ongoing Claude app and Claude Code product changes.
Accessed 2026-07-06