OpenAI Deactivates Three-Year-Old Pro Account Used for Bug Bounty Work, Permanently Cutting Off All Chat History and Files
A three-year-old OpenAI account subscribed to the ChatGPT Pro plan at $100 per month and enrolled in the Daybreak Blue cyber-access program has been permanently deactivated, resulting in the complete loss of all chat history, generated files, and project data.
The account owner, who had used the service since 2023 for general tasks and later for legitimate penetration testing and bug-bounty submissions, received no advance warning. While actively working in multiple ChatGPT and Codex tabs, the sessions were terminated in real time with an immediate logout. Minutes later an email arrived citing “Cyber Abuse,” after which every login attempt failed.
Despite holding the special Daybreak Blue access intended for white-hat security work, the account was still banned. The program requires submission of biometric data, voice samples, and passport information, yet offers no protection against policy-based termination. Appeals submitted through the official AI review system, support@openai.com, and the help-center chat were all rejected within hours, with no option for human review or data export.
The user reports that PayPal confirmed the decision as final and that repeated attempts to contact support produced only automated refusals. No refund has been issued, and the account holder is now evaluating a chargeback while exploring any remaining avenues to retrieve years of accumulated research data.
Similar deactivation reports have proliferated on Reddit in recent months, including cases involving extended Codex sessions. The author advises all users to export important conversations and files regularly, noting that once an account is flagged, access to every OpenAI product is revoked instantly and irreversibly.
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