Key Takeaways
What this is — “Your Year with ChatGPT” is an optional year-end recap inside ChatGPT that reflects how ChatGPT was used during 2025, with themes and simple usage stats.
Why it can be missing — Access depends on eligibility, rollout timing, account type, and settings such as Memory and chat-history controls, so some accounts will not see it even after searching for it.
What to do when it does not appear — A small set of checks usually explains the gap: region availability, plan type, and whether the required controls are turned on.
Story & Details
The feature, plainly named — “Your Year with ChatGPT” is OpenAI’s built-in year-in-review experience for ChatGPT. It arrived on December 22, 2025, and the rollout continued through December 26, 2025, meaning the launch already happened but not every account received it at the same moment.
What it shows — The recap is designed to feel light and visual. It highlights broad themes drawn from chat activity, then adds a few headline numbers about usage across the year. Coverage in reputable tech outlets also describes playful extras such as a short poem, an archetype label, and pixel-style artwork that reflects common topics.
Who gets it, and where — At launch, OpenAI’s own release notes and FAQ describe availability in the United States (North America), the United Kingdom (Europe), Canada (North America), Australia (Oceania), and New Zealand (Oceania). The same materials also say it is intended for consumer plans and is not offered on Business, Enterprise, Team, or Education plans. That single detail explains many “Why not?” moments with no mystery involved.
Why “check again” sometimes changes nothing — The experience is described as a gradual rollout, and it also depends on account activity. If the system decides activity is too limited, the recap can shrink to basic statistics. If the required settings are off, the recap may not appear at all. OpenAI’s help guidance for Memory explains that Memory controls and chat-history controls can be switched on or off in settings, and that Temporary Chat exists for sessions that do not use or update Memory.
A tiny Dutch mini-lesson, for real-life use — Dutch is used in the Netherlands (Europe), and short phrases can make daily life smoother, including travel in nearby Portugal (Europe), where English is common but short local-language habits still help confidence.
A useful starter sentence is: Ik begrijp het.
Simple meaning: it is used to say that the message is understood.
Word-by-word: Ik = I; begrijp = understand; het = it.
Tone: neutral and polite; it fits seeing directions, rules, or instructions.
A second, practical sentence is: Kunt u dat herhalen, alstublieft?
Simple meaning: it is used to ask for a repeat in a polite way.
Word-by-word: Kunt = can; u = you (polite); dat = that; herhalen = repeat; alstublieft = please.
Tone: formal and safe; it works with strangers, staff, or officials.
Why the recap and the language lesson belong in one story — A year-end recap is a mirror: it shows patterns, habits, and choices. Language learning works the same way. A small habit repeated across months becomes a clear skill, and a recap makes the pattern visible. In practice, the most useful approach stays simple: name the goal, keep a steady routine, and check the settings that quietly shape what the tool can show.
Conclusions
“Your Year with ChatGPT” is a real OpenAI feature, and December 2025 is when it entered public view. Yet it is also a feature with gates: region, account type, and the Memory and chat-history controls that decide whether a recap can be generated at all. When it appears, it offers a friendly snapshot. When it does not, the explanation is usually mundane, not personal. The calm takeaway is that a missing recap often points to a setting, a plan, or a rollout window—nothing more dramatic than that.
Selected References
[1] OpenAI Help Center — “ChatGPT — Release Notes” (December 22, 2025: “Your Year with ChatGPT”) — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-custom-instructions
[2] OpenAI Help Center — “Your Year with ChatGPT — FAQs” — https://help.openai.com/es-es/articles/20001042-your-year-with-chatgpt-faqs
[3] TechCrunch — “ChatGPT launches a year-end review like Spotify Wrapped” — https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/22/chatgpt-launches-a-year-end-review-like-spotify-wrapped/
[4] The Verge — “ChatGPT’s yearly recap sums up your conversations with the chatbot” — https://www.theverge.com/news/849348/openai-chatgpt-2025-year-in-review-wrapped
[5] OpenAI — “Memory and new controls for ChatGPT” — https://openai.com/index/memory-and-new-controls-for-chatgpt/
[6] WSJ News (YouTube) — “OpenAI VP on Competing with Deepseek, How ChatGPT ‘Reasons’ and More” — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-t1Pg3eX4o
Appendix
Activity threshold — A minimum level of use that must be met before certain personalized experiences can be generated, so that the output is meaningful rather than empty.
Archetype — A short label that groups behavior into a simple style category, often used in recaps to describe a pattern without long explanations.
Chat History — Stored past chats that can remain available for review and can also be used, when enabled, to support features that summarize or personalize.
Memory — A set of controls that let ChatGPT retain or reference certain information so responses can be more consistent over time, with user-facing options to manage or disable it.
Pixel art — A visual style made of visible square “pixels,” often used for playful, compact images that suggest a theme without fine detail.
Reference Chat History — A setting that allows the system to use past conversations to inform responses and certain experiences, with the option to switch it off.
Reference Saved Memories — A setting tied to details explicitly saved as Memory, used to keep preferences or stable facts available in future chats.
Temporary Chat — A mode meant for conversations that do not use or update Memory, suitable for sensitive topics or one-off tasks.
Your Year with ChatGPT — OpenAI’s optional year-end recap experience inside ChatGPT, focused on themes and usage snapshots from a calendar year.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 