Branching can make my own conversations inaccessible with a permission error, making the branch feature unusable in regular chats and GPTs

I am reporting this as a ChatGPT bug because it affects the core functionality of the branch feature.

Issue:

After branching a conversation, the branch that is created or opened can become inaccessible even though it is my own conversation and I am logged into the correct account.

The exact error shown is:

“You don’t have permission to access this conversation. Make sure you’re logged into the correct account, or ask the conversation owner to send you a shared link.”

This is not only happening in the Android app. I also reproduced the same permission error on mobile Chrome at chatgpt.com with the same account. Because of that, this does not appear to be limited to the Android app UI.

This is also not limited to regular ChatGPT conversations. I have observed the same kind of branching/access problem in GPTs / custom GPT conversations as well.

Timing:

This started very recently. I did not experience this as a normal recurring issue before. Based on my observation, it began within approximately the last 1–2 weeks.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open an existing conversation.

2. Branch the conversation, or open a conversation that was created through branching.

3. Instead of opening normally, the branch may show a permission/access error.

4. The error treats the conversation as if I do not own it or need a shared link from the owner.

Observed behavior:

• A branched conversation can become inaccessible.

• The affected conversation is my own conversation, not a shared link from another user.

• The same account is logged in when the error appears.

• The issue occurs on both the Android app and Chrome web.

• The issue occurs not only in regular chats, but also in GPTs / custom GPT conversations in my observation.

• The error message suggests an ownership or shared-link access problem even though the conversation was created by the same account.

Expected behavior:

• A branched conversation should remain accessible to the same account that created it.

• Branching should not change ownership, workspace/project association, GPT association, or access permissions.

• A user should be able to create, open, continue, and compare branches reliably.

• If branching fails, it should fail safely without creating or opening an inaccessible conversation.

Impact:

This can make the branch feature unusable in affected cases.

The branch feature is intended to let users create a separate path from an existing conversation while keeping the original context available. When the created or opened branch becomes inaccessible with a permission error, the user cannot use the feature for its basic purposes.

The practical impact is that affected users may be unable to:

• create a usable branch,

• continue work from the branched context,

• compare how different branches develop,

• preserve multiple reasoning paths or work directions,

• protect important context before continuing a conversation,

• use branching reliably in GPTs / custom GPT workflows.

In affected cases, this is not only a minor access or UI issue. The provided branching functionality becomes unreliable or unusable because the created/opened branch may immediately become inaccessible to the account that created it.

Environment:

• Android app: affected

• Mobile Chrome web at chatgpt.com: affected

• Account: same logged-in account in both cases

• Conversation types affected: regular ChatGPT conversations and GPTs / custom GPT conversations

• Timing: started very recently, approximately within the last 1–2 weeks

• Affected conversations: my own conversations, not shared links from another user

Additional note:

I attempted to attach screenshots showing the same permission error in the Android app and Chrome web, but the forum upload fails and I cannot attach the images to this post. The screenshots are available on my side, and the exact error text shown in them is included above.

This seems like a conversation access / branching / ownership or permission resolution issue rather than a feature request. Because it can prevent users from using the branch feature itself across regular chats and GPTs, and because it can make users lose access to branched conversation context, I believe this requires early investigation and timely handling.