ChatGPT version arrows gone? How to see earlier versions of a message
Updated October 5, 2026 · By Otter Potter, the maker of Version Arrows for ChatGPT (not neutral; we say where it matters).
When you edit a prompt or regenerate an answer, ChatGPT keeps the earlier version. It used to show ‹ 1/2 › arrows on the message so you could flip between them. In 2026 those arrows were replaced on the web by a separate See versions window, and for a while some accounts couldn't reach older versions at all. The good news: the older versions are still saved. Here's how to get to them.
1. ChatGPT's "See versions" window
Hover over an edited prompt and click See versions. A window opens with arrows to step through each version. From there you can Return to current version or Branch in new chat to continue from an older one. It's built in and free; the catch is that it's a separate window, so comparing versions means opening and closing it, and continuing from an old version starts a new chat.
2. Search your chats
ChatGPT's chat search can still find text from older versions. It's useful when you remember a phrase but not which chat it was in.
3. Version Arrows for ChatGPT (we make this)
Version Arrows for ChatGPT is a free browser extension that puts the ‹ 1/2 › arrows back on the message itself. Click an arrow to read the other version in place, your prompt and the answer that followed it, and copy it with one click. It also adds a prompt navigator: a rail on the right to jump to any prompt in a long chat. It only reads the chat you have open on chatgpt.com, never changes it, and sends nothing anywhere. To keep going from an older prompt, it has a button that does the "Branch in new chat" steps for you. (No tool can make an old version the active one in the same chat anymore; ChatGPT ignores that.)
Questions
- Are my old versions deleted?
- No. Edited prompts and regenerated answers are kept with the chat; only the way to reach them changed.
- Why don't I see versions in the mobile app?
- The version controls have come and gone on the mobile apps. On a computer, use chatgpt.com or the desktop app.
- Is Version Arrows made by OpenAI?
- No. It's made by Otter Potter and is not affiliated with OpenAI.