Codex's most powerful desktop features are now available in Europe, the UK, and Switzerland
Computer Use, the Chrome extension, Personalized Memory, and Chronicle have expanded to the EEA, UK, and Switzerland — with Memory off by default.
If you have been using Codex in the European Economic Area, the UK, or Switzerland and noticed that some of the most interesting features were simply not available to you, that has now changed. OpenAI has rolled out Computer Use on macOS and Windows, the Codex Chrome extension, Personalized Memory, and the Chronicle screen-context preview to users in those regions.
These were not minor gaps. Computer Use is the capability that lets Codex actually operate your desktop, seeing the screen and controlling apps through clicks and keyboard input. The Chrome extension enables automation of tasks that require a signed-in browser session, working across tabs without taking over your browser entirely. Memory lets Codex retain preferences, recurring workflows, and project conventions across sessions. Chronicle, introduced in April 2026 for macOS, goes a step further by building memories from recent screen context automatically. All of them were previously unavailable in Europe.
What was blocked, and why
When Computer Use launched on macOS, the EEA, UK, and Switzerland were explicitly excluded. OpenAI did not give a detailed public explanation at the time, but the same geographic restrictions appeared on Chronicle when it launched shortly after, which pointed to ongoing work with European data-protection requirements rather than a technical constraint. This latest changelog update resolves both restrictions in one go, and notably also confirms Windows support for Computer Use in the same rollout — something that was not part of the original macOS launch.
What each feature actually does
Computer Use gives Codex the ability to interact with graphical user interfaces. On macOS, it uses Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions to see and operate apps. On Windows, the same principle applies. This matters for tasks where a command-line tool or API integration is not available, such as checking something inside a desktop application, reproducing a UI bug, or changing settings in a tool that has no scriptable interface. Because Computer Use can affect app and system state outside your project workspace, OpenAI recommends scoping tasks carefully and reviewing permission prompts before proceeding.
The Chrome extension handles browser automation that requires your existing signed-in session. Rather than spinning up a separate browser profile, it works within Chrome in the background. OpenAI’s approach to data here is specific: browser activity is only stored when it becomes part of the Codex thread context, such as text Codex reads from a page, screenshots, tool calls, or summaries included in the conversation. There is no separate complete record of Chrome actions stored independently.
Personalized Memory allows Codex to carry forward useful context between sessions. After you enable it, Codex can turn relevant content from eligible prior threads into local memory files, stored under your Codex home directory at ~/.codex by default. It skips short-lived or active sessions, redacts secrets from generated memory fields, and updates memories in the background rather than immediately at the end of every thread.
Chronicle is an opt-in research preview, currently limited to ChatGPT Pro subscribers on macOS. It captures screen context locally and uses a temporary Codex session to generate memories from what is visible on your screen. Screenshots are processed on OpenAI’s servers to generate those memories, but are not stored after processing and are not used for training. The resulting memories are saved locally as unencrypted markdown files in $CODEX_HOME/memories_extensions/chronicle/. Before enabling it, it is worth knowing that Chronicle uses rate limits quickly, increases the risk of prompt injection, and stores its memory files unencrypted on your device.
The privacy default you should know about
This is the detail worth paying attention to if you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland: Memory is off by default in those regions. You need to opt in to enable it. This is a deliberate design choice that reflects the privacy norms those regions operate under, GDPR in particular. It also means that browser automation through the Chrome extension will not draw on saved memories unless you have actively turned Memory on.
This is a sensible default, but it is also easy to miss if you are expecting Codex to behave the same way as it does for users elsewhere. If you want the personalised, context-aware experience that Memory enables, you need to go and switch it on.
A few other things in the same release
Alongside the regional expansion, the same changelog update includes a couple of useful additions. Browser use in Chrome and the Codex in-app browser now has a developer mode, giving Codex Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) access for performance profiling and deeper debugging of network traffic, console output, runtime errors, and page state. Browser use has also been made up to 2x faster through CDP and DOM snapshot optimisations that reduce the number of browser round trips. And the /init command is now available in the app composer for creating project instructions, bringing the same initialisation workflow from the Codex CLI into the desktop app.
What this means for you
If you are a Codex user in Europe and have been working around the regional restrictions, you no longer need to. The features are available without any workaround required.
If you are new to these capabilities, the practical starting point is Computer Use for desktop tasks that have no clean API or CLI equivalent, and the Chrome extension for anything that requires your actual signed-in browser session. Memory is worth enabling once you have a sense of the kinds of context you want Codex to retain across sessions. Chronicle is compelling but carries more risk, and the Pro-only, macOS-only limitation means it will not apply to most users right now.
The opt-in default for Memory is worth respecting rather than dismissing. It exists for good reasons, and it is worth taking a moment to understand what you are enabling before you switch it on.