Forensic analysis of OpenAI's ChatGPT mobile application

Abstract

Since its public launch, OpenAI's ChatGPT has achieved significant success, attracting millions of users within the first few months of its release. Although numerous similar applications have emerged, none have yet matched the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Last year, OpenAI released the ChatGPT mobile app. This application serves a broad range of uses, some of which may be malicious and, unfortunately, it has not yet been parsed by either commercial or open-source tools. Nevertheless, the data stored by this application, such as JSON files that store a user's conversations with ChatGPT, can be instrumental in attributing user actions, discerning perpetrators' knowledge and motivations, and resolving practical investigations. In this paper, OpenAI's ChatGPT mobile application is examined on both Android and iOS operating systems, focusing on potential evidentiary data within. The cloud-native data associated with the app, which can be retrieved through user data export requests are also investigated. The primary objective of this study is to discover artifacts that investigators can use in real-world cases involving this mobile app. Additionally, the authors have contributed to FOSS to support professionals in this field.