# OpenAI resets rate limits, adds locked chats and promises credit to 40,000 accounts

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-10-20T20:49:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/openai-resets-rate-limits-adds-locked-chats-and-promises-credit-to-40

## Summary

OpenAI announced a reset of usage limits just after noon on the 15th day of its 28‑day announcement streak, a move that should immediately lift rate‑limit blocks for most users. The same update introduced “Locked Chats,” a feature that hides past conversations behind a passcode or fingerprint and is currently available on all plans. The author speculates it may be aimed at preventing hijacked accounts from exposing prior chats.

Over the weekend, OpenAI said about 40,000 accounts were mistakenly placed on a different plan, causing quota to be consumed unusually fast. The company plans to compensate those users with credits, though the exact amount has not been disclosed. Affected users should have received an email.

Separately, an open‑weights model called Ornith-1.5-122B was released and can be accessed via API. While the 122B‑parameter size may be heavy for personal machines, the API pricing is described as not exorbitantly high. The author notes the focus on security‑related features and the slowing pace of daily announcements.

## Key points

- Rate limit reset occurred just after noon on the 15th day of OpenAI's 28‑day announcement run
- Locked Chats lets users hide conversations behind passcode or fingerprint, available on all plans
- About 40,000 accounts will receive credit after being assigned the wrong plan and over‑using quota

## Why it matters

Restoring limits and adding privacy controls address user trust, while credit compensation mitigates a billing error affecting tens of thousands of customers.

## Sources

1. [OpenAI's 15th Day of Consecutive Announcements: Rate Limit Reset & ChatGPT 'Locked Chats' Arrive! Compensation Promised for About 40,000 Accounts! AI News to Read in Your Spare](https://note.com/redcord/n/nb6d56aea54f1?hl=en) (note.com, 2026-10-20)

## Cite

Digest AI, "OpenAI resets rate limits, adds locked chats and promises credit to 40,000 accounts", 20 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/openai-resets-rate-limits-adds-locked-chats-and-promises-credit-to-40

---

Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record. Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse
JSON: https://digestai.news/story/openai-resets-rate-limits-adds-locked-chats-and-promises-credit-to-40.json