Problem: Users can’t easily tell which files are still “in use” across chats/projects, making cleanup risky and storage management inefficient.

Proposal: Maintain explicit, global relationships (“references”) between files and every context that uses them (Chats, Projects, File Library).

Reference tracking scope: Track all references to a file across the product; if no reference exists anywhere, the file becomes eligible for cleanup.

What counts as a reference: Any file uploaded by the user or generated during chat conversations/tasks that is used/associated with a chat/project (and broader usage).

Deletion behavior: When a chat/project is deleted, ChatGPT should detect files that now have zero remaining references and offer to delete them automatically; files still referenced elsewhere are preserved.

Safety: Deleted files go to a temporary trash/bin for a retention period before permanent deletion.

Retention period: Configurable user option (with a platform default).

Include all reference sources: Yes—include references from Chats, Projects, File Library, Memory, custom GPTs, and other features.

Benefit: Automatic cleanup based on actual usage (references) rather than file age; clearer separation between temporary working files and permanent reference material, especially alongside Projects, Memory, and the File Library.

Thank you!