Forced Autosave is a Major Step Back for User Control in AI Studio

Google AI Studio
1

Hello,

I am writing to express my significant disappointment with the recent removal of the autosave toggle in Google AI Studio, a change I noticed around August 21, 2025. This feature has been replaced with a forced autosave that cannot be disabled.

Previously, the ability to control when my chat history was saved was a cornerstone of my workflow. It allowed me to experiment freely, craft specific prompts, and maintain a “clean” state for my sessions without worrying about every single interaction being permanently logged. This level of control is crucial for focused and iterative development.

The new “forced autosave” system fundamentally disrupts this. While I understand the potential intent behind ensuring work isn’t lost, removing the user’s choice in the matter is a severe regression. The introduction of “temporary chats” is not an adequate replacement, as it doesn’t allow for the stateful, controlled environment that the old system provided. I often want to work within a specific chat, make temporary adjustments, and then decide if I want to save that new state, not have every change automatically forced upon me.

This change feels like a significant step backward in terms of user agency and control. I strongly urge the development team to reconsider this decision and reinstate the ability to toggle autosave on and off. The previous implementation was perfect; this new forced system is a major inconvenience.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

8 Likes
3

Yeah, what the hell is up with that? Why remove the choice?

2 Likes
5

Agreed, this is certainly a step backward.
Especially considering the autosave bug that has plagued AI Studio instances with large context windows over the last year or so (where the autosave feature fails, and the save button becomes stuck “saving”, and all data since last successful save is essentially lost.)

7

Edit: No longer true. Every account has autosave turn on by force now.

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I noticed that my different accounts behave differently when it comes to autosaving. My accounts with a Google One subscription have the option to turn off autosave, while the one without a subscription is forced to autosave.

Also, the one with a Google One subscription does NOT have temporary chat, while the one without a subscription does.

I don’t know if this is worth anything, but it’s something others might want to check.