Anthropic has unified the memory systems of Claude chat and Claude Cowork, allowing the AI to share context across both platforms. The update enables Claude to update its memory dynamically during active chats and introduces granular controls for users to edit or delete specific topics. While sensitive personal data is excluded by default, users can opt in to save it, though highly private identifiers like Social Security numbers remain strictly blocked.
Unified memory system
- ▪The unified memory features are enabled by default on Free, Pro, and Max plans across web, desktop, and mobile platforms.
- ▪For Enterprise and Teams tier users, the unified memory features are disabled by default and subject to eligibility.
- ▪Anthropic announced the unification of the memory systems for Claude chat and Claude Cowork on August 25, 2026.
Real-time memory updates
- ▪Claude now updates its memory dynamically as users chat, rather than waiting until a conversation ends to generate a summary.
- ▪Users do not need to explicitly instruct Claude to remember information for it to be added to the memory system during an active chat.
User memory control
- ▪Users can view, edit, or delete saved memories organized by topic directly from the Memory section in the Claude Settings menu.
- ▪Claude users can pause or reset the memory system at any time through the application settings.
Sensitive data exclusions
- ▪Users can enable the storage of sensitive topics by toggling on the 'Include sensitive topics in memory' option in Claude's settings.
- ▪By default, Claude does not store personal or sensitive topics, including health, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics, and gender identity.
- ▪Claude will display a notification to the user each time it saves a topic identified as sensitive.
- ▪Claude will not store highly private data, such as Social Security numbers, government-issued IDs, criminal history, or immigration status, even if sensitive memory is enabled.
Chat-Cowork integration
- ▪The integration of memory between chat and Cowork is designed to eliminate the need for users to repeatedly brief the AI on context when switching tasks.
- ▪The integration allows Claude Cowork to access context built up over months of conversations in Claude chat, and vice versa.
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