Anthropic Unifies Claude Chat and Cowork Memory Across Apps
Anthropic unifies Claude chat and Cowork memory, adds live topic updates and user controls, while limiting storage of sensitive personal data by default.
Summary
On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Anthropic unified memory across Claude chat and Claude Cowork, letting retained context follow users from research into action without repeated briefings. Cowork can now draft a manager update or conference agenda using previously discussed details such as headcount, city and speakers, making Claude operate as one continuous assistant rather than separate experiences.
Claude now adds memory topics during ongoing chats instead of summarizing only when conversations end. Users can read, edit or delete retained information. Health data, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics and gender identity are excluded by default, but users can activate “include sensitive topics in memory,” with notifications whenever one is saved. Government-issued ID, Social Security numbers, criminal history, immigration status and material violating Anthropic’s acceptable use policy are never stored. Memory is enabled by default for Free, Pro and Max plans on web, desktop and mobile, while iOS and Android users must install the latest app version.
Positives
- Shared memory eliminates repeated briefings when users move between Claude chat research and Claude Cowork tasks.
- Claude updates memory during ongoing conversations, making new context available across both experiences sooner.
- Users can read, edit or delete every topic Claude has retained.
- Sensitive topics are excluded by default, and Claude notifies users whenever an enabled sensitive topic is saved.
- Free, Pro and Max users receive the unified memory across web, desktop and mobile.
Risks & concerns
- Before the update, Claude Cowork required users to re-enter project details already discussed in chat.
- Sensitive information can enter memory when users activate the optional “include sensitive topics in memory” setting.
- Government-issued ID, Social Security numbers, criminal history and immigration status cannot be retained under any setting.
- iOS and Android users must update to the latest app version before receiving the feature.