Can you share a ChatGPT account? The rules, and the ways to share that are allowed

No. OpenAI's Terms of Use say "you may not share your account credentials or make your account available to anyone else," and that applies to Plus, Pro and Business logins alike. ChatGPT has no family plan in October 2026. What you can share: projects, on every plan including Free (up to 5 people on Free, 10 on Plus and Go, 100 on Pro), chat links anyone can continue in their own account, and a ChatGPT Business workspace, which can be as small as two seats at about $20 each a month billed annually. If your household wants one subscription for everyone, Google AI Pro is the plan that allows it: family sharing with up to five others.

Key takeaways

• The rule: one account per person. OpenAI says anyone else "should sign up for their own account."
• The risk: OpenAI lists sharing your account among the reasons for deactivation, and "unusual activity" errors tell you to stop sharing.
• What leaks: one login means one memory, one chat history and one set of connected apps.
• Allowed: shared projects, shared chat links, and Business seats for two or more people.
• No family plan: ChatGPT, Claude and their rivals have none, except Google, whose AI plans share with up to five family members.

Is it against the rules to share a ChatGPT account?

Yes. The Terms of Use, effective January 1, 2026, say: "You may not share your account credentials or make your account available to anyone else and are responsible for all activities that occur under your account" (OpenAI). The European terms use the same sentence.

OpenAI's account-sharing policy adds: "Your OpenAI account is meant for you—the individual who created it. If someone else needs to use OpenAI's products, they should sign up for their own account" (OpenAI). Using your own account on several devices is fine.

ChatGPT Business doesn't change this: its agreement says the customer "will not share Account access credentials or individual login credentials between multiple users."

What happens if you share a ChatGPT login?

• Warnings: OpenAI's "Unusual activity detected" error lists, among its fixes, "Ensure you are not sharing your ChatGPT account with other people" (OpenAI).
• Deactivation: "Sharing your account or API keys inappropriately" is on OpenAI's list of reasons an account can be deactivated (OpenAI).
• Usage limits: everyone shares one plan's limits, so a heavy user runs them down for the rest.

OpenAI publishes no limit on devices or sessions.

Why sharing one login is a bad idea anyway

• Memory mixes. ChatGPT's memory draws on past chats, saved memories, custom instructions and connected apps such as Gmail (OpenAI). On a shared login, one person's details shape the other's answers, and one person's email can come up in the other's chats.
• Everyone sees everything. Every chat, file and image is visible to everyone who logs in.
• Deleting doesn't clean up. "Deleting a chat alone does not necessarily delete a separate saved memory created from that chat."
• Security. Two-factor authentication ties the account to one phone, so sharing a login means passing codes around or turning protection off; OpenAI's own reason for the rule is that "sharing login credentials can expose your personal data and payment information."

How can you share ChatGPT with family or friends?

Each person keeps their own account, Free included, and you share the work:

• Shared projects: a project's chats, files and instructions, shared by email or link. Up to 5 collaborators on Free, 10 on Plus and Go, and 100 on Pro; members can open and branch each other's chats, but "chats in shared projects can be branched, not collaborated on synchronously" (OpenAI). Details in ChatGPT shared projects.
• Chat links: a snapshot anyone with the link can read; continuing it "creates a separate, private conversation in the recipient's account" (Share a ChatGPT chat).
• Space: OpenAI's shared pages and files, announced September 29, 2026 for Pro, Business and Enterprise. "Each person works with their own ChatGPT."
• Business: at least 2 seats, $20 a seat a month billed annually or $25 monthly (OpenAI). It's designed for organizations and adds admin controls, and business data isn't used for training by default.

Group chats are gone: OpenAI stopped new ChatGPT group chats on July 9, 2026 (What happened to ChatGPT group chats?). Custom GPTs can't be created on personal plans any more either.

Is there a ChatGPT family plan?

No. ChatGPT's pricing page lists Free, Go at $8, Plus at $20 and Pro from $100, with no family or household option (OpenAI). Parental controls link a parent's account to a teen's, aged 13 to 17, and let the parent set content, memory and quiet-hour limits, but they don't share a subscription, and "linking accounts does not give a parent or guardian access to a teen's conversations" (OpenAI).

How should a couple share ChatGPT?

• Free: two Free accounts and a shared project, at no cost.
• One subscription: one Plus or Go account and one Free account; the paid owner's project holds up to 10 people and 25 files.
• Both heavy users: two Plus subscriptions, or two Business seats if you want one bill and admin controls.

What about Claude and Gemini?

• Claude: Anthropic's terms are the same: "You may not share your Account login information... You also may not make your Account available to anyone else" (Anthropic). There's no family plan; Claude Team starts at two people (Claude Team vs Enterprise).
• Gemini: Google AI Pro, at $19.99 a month, includes "family sharing with up to five others," who get the AI benefits at no extra cost (Google). Family members must live in the same country, and the Gemini app is for people 18 and over.

Talking to one AI together

Every allowed way to share ChatGPT is a copy, a branch or a shared document; none puts two people in the same live conversation with the AI. Poly (usepoly.co) does: friends, family or a team join one browser room, each signed in as themselves, everyone sees the same conversation live, and any member can approve what the AI does. Free to start. What is Poly?