Skip to main content

Where did my threads go?

Explains why Perplexity threads may disappear, covering temporary threads, privacy, retention, and troubleshooting steps for missing conversations.

Written by Alexis Camacho
Updated over a month ago

Lost individual threads

We do not delete threads randomly. However, due to privacy and data retention policies, some "temporary threads" expire after a period of time.

What do Temporary Threads look like?

Within your history, threads will be marked as a "Temporary thread", see example below:


Here are a few situations where this might occur:

  • Whenever personal context is involved

    In some cases, this happens if you attach a file or use a connector. However, if you use the Comet browser, temporary threads will always expire when your query involves open tabs, browsing history, or triggering an agentic event. This is due to access restrictions on personal context, navigational queries, and data retention policies.

  • Created whilst logged out

    Logged-out threads are threads created without signing into an account. These anonymous threads expire after 14 days and are not recoverable.

  • Incognito mode

    Incognito threads are private conversations that expire after 24 hours, use for sensitive queries you don't need to save.

  • Enterprise retention policies

    If you're an Enterprise Pro or Enterprise Max user, please ask your organization's admin to check the default thread retention policy.

Lost all your threads

Perplexity doesn't delete your data, here are a few reasons why this may have happened:

  • Logged in recently

    In some cases, you may be logged into a completely different account. Please double-check the email address of the account you're logged in as.

  • Accidentally clicked "Delete All" instead of deleting one thread

    Incognito threads are private conversations that expire after 24 hours, use for sensitive queries you don't need to save.

  • All threads missing on a particular?

    Sometimes, you might be signed into a different account. Check the email address in your account settings and compare. If you continue to have issues, please contact support@perplexity.ai, share a screenshot of your account settings showing both your email and username. With this information, we'll be able to assist you further.

  • Are you using Incognito mode?

    When in incognito mode, your history is temporarily hidden from the sidebar, however all your threads will still be available to you under the History page.