Key points (neutral, factual)
- The ChatGPT desktop app repeatedly signs into a personal Plus account instead of a Teams account when both exist.
- Attempts to switch accounts by clearing caches, wiping macOS Keychain entries, removing app support files, and reinstalling do not resolve the issue.
- Safari displays a Google SSO prompt for Teams, but the app appears to resume the prior Plus session regardless.
- Logging out in the desktop app does not reliably terminate the Plus session.
- The behavior suggests a server-side session or token binding that overrides the user’s SSO selection.
- Workarounds reported: keep Plus in a browser and dedicate the desktop app to Teams, or run a separate macOS user account/VM for isolation.
- Impact: Multi-account users cannot practically use the desktop app for Teams features if they also have Plus.
If you juggle personal and work AI accounts, this one will sound familiar: the ChatGPT desktop app reportedly clings to a personal Plus login even when a user tries to authenticate into a company Teams plan. The result is a frustrating loop—clear caches, nuke Keychain entries, reinstall the app—and still end up right back in the personal account.
Why this matters to developers and IT
For engineers, data scientists, and IT admins, the desktop client isn’t just convenience. It’s the tool for screen-sharing demos, system integrations (file drag/drop, screenshots, clipboard), and consistent day-to-day workflows. If teams can’t reliably authenticate their work identities, the impact is more than cosmetic—it breaks compliance expectations and makes adoption harder inside organizations.
At AI Tech Inspire, this surfaced as a strong claim: even after a thorough local reset, the desktop app appears to “phone home,” detect an existing Plus session, and silently restore it—bypassing the user’s attempt to sign in with a Teams identity. Safari allegedly shows Google SSO for Teams, but the app doesn’t honor it. For multi-account users, that’s a showstopper.
What might be happening under the hood
There’s no official explanation tied to this specific behavior, but the pattern matches a few well-known pitfalls in auth flows:
- Persisted server-side refresh tokens: Even if you wipe local tokens (Keychain, cache), the server can maintain a valid refresh token linked to your device or app instance. On app startup, it may request a new session without a full OAuth flow, restoring the last identity.
- Embedded webview vs. system browser mismatch: If the desktop app uses an embedded webview while SSO runs in Safari, the app might intercept a session restore callback before the browser sign-in completes.
- “Smart” session resumption: Optimizations meant to reduce login friction can accidentally override explicit choices, such as picking a different Google workspace during SSO.
In other words, even a rigorous local cleanup won’t help if the core issue is a server-side preference for your most recent active identity.
Who’s affected
Anyone using both ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Teams on the desktop app—particularly on macOS, given the Keychain references—may be impacted. This is especially painful for:
- Developers who need on-device app features (e.g., system prompt testing, file inputs) with a Teams account.
- Team leads who demo workflows to colleagues but must use the organization’s Teams workspace.
- IT admins trying to standardize tooling for enterprise rollouts.
What users report trying (and failing)
- Wiping local data: app support folders, caches, and Keychain items.
- Full app reinstall.
- Logging out inside the app, then attempting to log into Teams via Google SSO.
“Logging out doesn’t actually log you out. Clearing data locally doesn’t help.”
Despite these steps, the app reportedly restores the Plus session “Every. Single. Time.”
Workarounds that seem to help (with caveats)
- Split environments: Keep Plus in a browser and dedicate the desktop app to Teams. If the app is already “stuck” on Plus, flip the roles: use the app for Plus and Teams in a browser. It’s not ideal—but it often works.
- Separate macOS user account: Create a second macOS user for work. This isolates Keychain, app data, and session fingerprints. Downside: context switching is heavier.
- Virtual machine or container: Run the app in a VM to isolate tokens and OS state. Heavyweight but effective for strict separation.
- Dedicated browser profiles: If you must use a browser for one identity, tie each account to a distinct browser profile (e.g., Chrome profiles). This aids cookie and identity isolation.
These are pragmatic, not elegant. The core problem—app-level account switching—remains unresolved in this scenario.
How other tools handle multi-account identity
It’s not new territory. Tools that cater to both personal and enterprise users often implement robust account switching:
- Slack: Multiple workspaces and easy toggling between them, each with distinct auth and data silos.
- GitHub Desktop: Clear sign-in flows and the ability to manage different accounts or organizations without silent “preference” for one.
- VS Code: Profile-aware extensions and settings, along with separate Microsoft sign-in contexts for work vs. personal.
Developers expect similar clarity from AI tooling—especially given how central assistants have become to day-to-day tasks like code review, doc generation, and prompt engineering with GPT-class models.
Why a fix would be straightforward for users, if not trivial for implementers
From a product standpoint, a few adjustments would resolve most pain:
- Reliable “Log out everywhere”: Provide a true logout that invalidates refresh tokens across devices for a given app client, not just local state.
- Explicit account selector: On startup, if multiple eligible identities exist, present a clear chooser instead of silently resuming the last session.
- Strict SSO precedence: If the user initiates an SSO flow, the app should defer to that choice—even if a resume token is available.
- Profile separation: Allow users to create personal and work profiles within the app, each with its own storage and token context.
None of this is novel; many developer tools already prioritize predictable identity switching because it’s essential in hybrid personal/work setups.
Developer lens: what to check and how to validate
If you’re troubleshooting this in a team environment, a quick validation plan can help:
- Known-good baseline: On a clean macOS account, install the app and sign into Teams first. Confirm it sticks across restarts. Then attempt to add Plus in a browser only.
- Observe the redirect flow: Does the app open an external browser for SSO and then “snap back” to Plus? Note whether Safari or an embedded webview handles the final callback.
- Token scope: After logout, check if any app-related Keychain items return. If they do, compare before/after to see what regenerates on launch.
- Network capture (advanced): With corporate approval, use a proxy to inspect whether the app requests a refresh token on startup—indicating server-side resume.
These steps won’t fix it, but they help isolate whether the problem is local persistence vs. server-side session logic.
Security and compliance angle
For organizations standardizing on Teams, identity confusion isn’t just annoying. It can muddy audit trails and raise questions about which account performed a given action—especially if employees inadvertently use personal accounts. The ask from admins is simple: deterministic control. If an employee chooses a work identity through SSO, the app should respect it, every time.
What readers can try today
- Decide which environment gets the desktop app versus the browser, and lock that in.
- Create a macOS “Work” user to keep Keychain and app state isolated from personal usage.
- Encourage teammates to adopt consistent profiles so demos and onboarding are smooth.
- Document your steps and outcomes; reproducible reports help vendors fix edge-case logic faster.
The bigger picture
AI assistants are transitioning from novelty to core workflow. As that happens, the bar rises on identity and environment design. Developers run multiple clouds, languages, and toolchains. Many already manage multiple identities across PyTorch, TensorFlow, Git providers, and package registries. The norm is clear: predictable multi-account behavior.
When a desktop client defaults to a personal session—even after the user initiates an enterprise SSO flow—it undermines trust in the toolchain. The fix isn’t glamorous, but it’s the kind of foundational UX that determines whether Teams adoption feels smooth or brittle.
Key takeaway: Multi-account users aren’t edge cases. If an app is used at work, it needs work-ready identity controls.
AI Tech Inspire will keep an eye on this story. If you’ve experienced the same behavior—and found a reliable fix beyond separating environments—share the steps you took and the exact sequence that worked. Clarity around session handling and SSO precedence will help the whole developer community move faster with the tools they already rely on.
Recommended Resources
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
