OpenAI has recently updated its ChatGPT app for Mac following the discovery by developer Pedro José Pereira Vieito that user conversations were being stored in plain text, posing a significant privacy risk. By developing the "ChatGPTStealer" app, Vieito demonstrated how easily these conversations could be accessed outside of the ChatGPT app, raising concerns about the lack of data protection. The Mac app bypassed Apple's sandboxing requirements by being available solely through OpenAI's website, enabling other apps or processes to potentially access the conversations without permission. After The Verge alerted OpenAI to the issue, the company released an update encrypting the chats to enhance security. Following the update, Vieito's app no longer works, and users like Jay Peters no longer have access to conversations in plain text, demonstrating OpenAI's commitment to maintaining high security standards as their technology evolves.