Claude’s New Memory Feature Could Save You Repeating Yourself, But It Can Remember More

While Claude has been able to remember past discussions since last summer, those 'memories' often ended up incomplete, whether by design or because of architectural limitations.

Now, Anthropic is addressing part of that issue by rolling out a significant update to its memory feature set.

Claude Now Shares Memories Across Chats and Cowork

The company's models can now retrieve and share memories across both the regular Claude chatbot and Claude Cowork. For anyone who needs a quick reminder, Cowork is the computer-use tool introduced earlier this year to handle routine tasks throughout the day.

According to Anthropic, 'When Cowork runs a task in the cloud, what Claude remembers from your chats is there, and vice versa.'

What this means for users is far less repetition during Cowork sessions, as Claude holds onto the context gathered from your chats.

The timing of this release is spot-on, building on an upgrade Anthropic recently rolled out for its Claude for Chrome extension to integrate Cowork into the tool. For users with the Cowork side panel, exchange inside Chrome are saved as part of their broader Claude history.

Users Get More Control Over What Claude Remembers

Anthropic is also granting users more control over what Claude remembers. Throughout the last few weeks, users have had access to a feature allowing them to view the chatbot's memories grouped by topic and adjust specific details directly from Claude's settings menu.

Sensitive Topics Memory Is Opt-In

To supplement those controls, the company is rolling out a new 'include sensitive topics in memory' feature. Anthropic notes: 'By default, Claude does not store topics related to personal or sensitive subject matter, like your health, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics, gender identity, and other similar areas.'

Toggling the sensitive topics feature on means Claude will start building those details into its memory and send you a notification whenever it logs one. Anthropic highlights that the AI will not go back and add past chats to memory, and users retain full freedom to switch off the setting, modify stored information or clear saved entries at any point.

Some Sensitive Data Will Still Stay Off-Limits

Addressing why it is introducing the update now, the firm explains: 'what some consider sensitive, others may consider useful for Claude to remember.'

Anthropic specifies that certain data points—including your Social Security number, criminal history and immigration status—will not be saved by Claude, regardless of whether the sensitive topics toggle is active.

Claude Memory Is Available Across Plans

Every Free, Pro and Max account has access to memory, which is activated automatically. To check out the new additions on mobile, make sure you update to the latest release of the Claude app for iOS or Android.

This expansion of Claude's memory architecture signals a broader shift towards proactive, context-aware AI assistants that seamlessly bridge desktop automation and daily conversation. By moving past fragmented interactions, Anthropic simplifies repetitive workflows—though the new sensitive topics toggle highlights the persistent, delicate balance between utility and user privacy.

While safeguards around credentials and official records remain intact, giving an AI permission to retain personal context requires deliberate user choice. As models become more integrated into routine daily tasks, granular control over stored data will likely determine how comfortably users adopt these increasingly persistent digital tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Claude's new memory feature?
  Claude's new memory feature allows the AI to remember and share information across chats and Cowork, reducing repetition and enhancing user experience.
• How can users control what Claude remembers?
  Users can view and adjust Claude's memories grouped by topic through the settings menu, and they can opt-in to include sensitive topics in memory.
• What sensitive data will Claude not store?
  Claude will not store Social Security numbers, criminal history, or immigration status, even if the sensitive topics toggle is active.
• Is Claude's memory feature available to all users?
  Yes, the memory feature is available across all Free, Pro, and Max accounts and is activated automatically.