Back up your Grok chats before deleting them (2026)

Grok lets you delete one conversation or your whole history. Its consumer FAQ says that once you ask for deletion it can take up to 30 days to remove the data from its systems, with exceptions for conversations that were de-identified and disassociated from your account, or that must be kept for safety, security or legal reasons (Grok consumer FAQ). Treat a delete as final and keep a copy of anything you might want again first.

1. Download your data from Grok

The FAQ says you can access, download and delete your data from Settings, Data Controls in the Grok mobile app or on grok.com. Start the download there first, keep the file somewhere safe, and check that it opens. If you no longer have access to your account, the FAQ points to the privacy request form. We have not tested the contents of Grok's own download, so this page does not describe its format.

2. Save the chats you'll reread as Markdown

For the conversations you care about, a readable copy helps. ThreadVault (disclosure: we make it) is a Chrome extension that exports chats from your signed-in grok.com tab as Markdown plus JSON in one ZIP, built in your browser so your chats never touch our servers.

Open grok.com in Chrome and sign in.
Click the ThreadVault icon and choose Bulk export, pick the chats (or Select all shown), and save the ZIP. Or use Export this chat for the one you have open.
Unzip it into a dated folder such as grok-backup-2026-11/. Each chat is a Markdown file in a grok/ folder with its title, dates and link at the top, a matching JSON file, and a manifest listing what was exported and anything that could not be read.

We tested Grok export on 10 November 2026 on a real account: text, turn order and code blocks came through. ThreadVault follows the newest branch of each conversation, so regenerated replies that are not on screen are left out. Images, files and citations were not part of that test, so keep Grok's own download for those. Full walkthrough: export Grok chats to Markdown and JSON.

3. Check the backup

Open a few files, including your longest chat, and make sure the answers and code are there. Compare the ThreadVault manifest with the chats you meant to keep. Only then delete.

4. Delete

One chat on grok.com: go to the conversation history page and select the trash button next to the chat.
One chat in the app: tap your profile picture to open your history, tap and hold the chat's name, and choose Delete Conversation.
Everything: in the app, Settings, Data Controls, Delete All Conversations. On grok.com, go to Settings and select the button for what you want to delete. The same screen can delete your account, so read the label before you click.

Don't forget share links and Grok on X

Share links are separate. The FAQ says a share link is public to anyone who has it and may be indexed by search engines if posted publicly; you can revoke them at grok.com/share-links by clicking Remove. Grok used inside X is covered by the X Help Center, not by Grok's FAQ, and ThreadVault does not export chats from X.

Steps are from Grok's consumer FAQ as checked on 13 November 2026. Menus change now and then, so follow what the app shows.

Pricing

ThreadVault is free for 25 threads on this browser. Unlimited is $9 for the first 50 buyers, then $19, one-time, inside the extension. No subscription. It also exports Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot chats.

Keep a readable copy before you delete. ThreadVault bulk-exports your Grok chats to Markdown plus JSON in one ZIP, locally in your browser. Free for 25 threads.
Add ThreadVault to Chrome Learn more

Related guides

Not affiliated with xAI. Grok is a trademark of its owner. Last checked November 13, 2026 against Grok's consumer FAQ and ThreadVault 1.2.3. Questions or corrections: hello@loomwise.app.