Empty room trend: what ChatGPT knows about you

What is the empty room trend?

Since late September, with a fresh wave around 12–13 October, a simple prompt has been spreading on social media, especially on X. It started on 27 September with a post by Kris Kashtanova (@icreatelife). There are two versions. You send ChatGPT a photo of an empty room, for example your own, and type: “Fill this room with everything you know about me.” Or you use text only, such as: “Fill an empty room with everything you know about me.”

ChatGPT then creates an image of a furnished room, with items that match what it has picked up about you: your hobbies, books, work and sports.

Reactions vary. Many people are amazed at how accurate the picture is. Others find it a little creepy: “It knows everything about me.” And sometimes ChatGPT simply gets it wrong, which makes for plenty of jokes too.

Why does ChatGPT know this?

ChatGPT has a memory feature. When it's on, ChatGPT can remember preferences and details from your chats so you don't have to repeat yourself. Depending on your plan and country, it can draw on past chats, saved memories, your custom instructions, files in your Library and connected apps such as Gmail.

So the room is really a picture of that memory. If you rarely use ChatGPT or memory is off, you'll likely get a fairly generic room.

How to join in

Open ChatGPT at chatgpt.com or in the official app. No account yet? Follow our sign-up guide.
You don't need a photo: you can simply type the prompt. If you do want to use a photo, don't use one of your own home, especially not with your address, people or personal papers in view. You can also first ask ChatGPT: “Create an image of an empty white room.”
With your photo, type: “Fill this room with everything you know about me.” Or without a photo: “Fill an empty room with everything you know about me.” Image creation also works in the free version, within a limit.
Then feel free to ask: “Why did you choose these items?” That shows you what ChatGPT based it on.

Surprised by the result? Here's how to check and delete what ChatGPT remembers.

Just ask: “What do you know about me?”
Review memory: go to Settings → Personalization → Memory. There you can review, correct or delete what it remembers.
Wipe it all (on the web): in the memory summary, open the menu (•••) and choose Delete and turn off memory. Note: your old chats stay. To truly remove something, also delete the chat where you shared it.
Temporary chat: want to ask something without ChatGPT remembering it? Start a temporary chat. It doesn't create new memories.
Training: in Settings → Data controls you can turn off “Improve the model for everyone” if you don't want your chats used to improve the AI.

Rule of thumb: don't tell a chatbot anything you wouldn't hand a stranger on a note, such as passwords, your national ID number or medical details you'd rather keep private.

Keep going

Want to use AI safely? Get the free 2-day AI starter, browse the image tools in our AI directory, or read how to spot fake ChatGPT ads.

Sources

Checked on 17 October 2026. Features and prices change often: always check the official page. AI Wegwijs is independent and not affiliated with the companies mentioned.