Claude and Cowork now share what they know about you
Anthropic has merged the memory systems of its Claude chatbot and its workplace assistant Cowork, meaning information Claude learns about a user is now automatically available to Cowork, and vice versa. The change, announced on Tuesday, is intended to make Cowork more useful for everyday office tasks, such as drafting a manager update or building event budgets, by drawing on context already established through chats with Claude, without users having to repeat themselves.
Anthropic says memories are now generated during conversations rather than only reviewed afterwards, and are switched on by default for Free, Pro and Max users, though Cowork itself is not available on Free accounts. "Sensitive" information, covering health, ethnicity, religion, politics and gender identity, is excluded unless users opt in, but once stored it is shared across both services. There is no way to keep Claude Chat and Cowork memories separate short of using different accounts; users can otherwise pause memory entirely, use incognito chats, or prune specific memories. Claude Code's memory remains separate, and Anthropic has not said whether that will change. Team and Enterprise admins control whether the feature is enabled for their organisations.
- Claude and Cowork now share one memory system, with no opt-out to separate them
- Memories are generated live during chats, on by default for most tiers
- Claude Code's memory stays separate; admins control access for business accounts
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Anthropic is the company behind Claude, an AI chatbot that can answer questions and help with writing and other tasks. Cowork is a separate Claude tool for workplace tasks, such as preparing updates or budgets.
AI assistants can use saved details from earlier conversations to tailor later responses. Sharing those details across tools may reduce the need to explain work context again, while raising questions about what information is retained and who can control it.
Claude’s chat and Cowork memories are linked, but Claude Code has a separate memory system. Users can pause memory, use incognito chats or remove individual saved details; workplace administrators decide whether the feature is enabled for their organisation.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Merging memories between Claude and Cowork solves a genuine usability problem where users must currently repeat context to get value from both tools. The feature includes thoughtful safeguards: sensitive information is excluded unless explicitly opted in, users can pause memories entirely or use incognito mode, and team administrators retain organisational control. This represents a reasonable trade-off where productivity gains are balanced against privacy through substantive user control mechanisms.
The case against
Consolidating data across services multiplies privacy risks without proportionate user benefit, especially given default-on settings that most users will not actively change. Even with sensitive data exclusions, the shared system means a security breach or policy change in one service compromises both, and once users opt into sensitive categories, that information flows across both platforms. This design prioritises company convenience over user data minimisation, which should be technology's foundational principle.