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Claude Personalization and Memory Setup Guide

Quick reference for configuring Claude's personalization features and memory.

Overview

Claude offers three personalization features:

Feature Scope Availability
Profile Preferences All conversations All plans
Memory Standalone chats + per-project Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise
Styles Response format/tone All plans

Part 1: Profile Preferences

Profile preferences are account-wide settings that apply to all your conversations.

Set Up Profile Preferences

  1. Click your initials (lower left corner)
  2. Go to Settings
  3. Find "What preferences should Claude consider in responses?"
  4. Enter your preferences and save

What to Include

  • Your role and professional context
  • Preferred communication style (concise, detailed, formal, casual)
  • Common terms or concepts you use
  • Typical scenarios you encounter
  • Technical preferences (languages, frameworks, tools)

Example: 

I'm a product manager at a SaaS company. I prefer concise responses
with bullet points. When discussing technical topics, explain concepts
simply—I'm not a developer. Default to Slack-friendly formatting.

Part 2: Memory

Memory lets Claude remember context across conversations, building on what you've discussed before.

Available on: Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise (web, desktop, mobile)

Enable Memory

  1. Go to Settings → Capabilities
  2. Toggle Memory on
  3. Grant any permissions if prompted

Note: Enterprise members can only enable memory when their organization Owner has activated it.

How Memory Works

  • Claude automatically summarizes your conversations
  • Creates a synthesis of key insights across your chat history
  • Updates every 24 hours
  • Provides context for new standalone conversations
  • Each project has its own separate memory space

What Claude Remembers

Claude focuses on work-related context: - Your role, projects, and professional context - Communication and working style preferences - Technical and coding preferences - Project details and ongoing work

View and Edit Memory

  1. Go to Settings → Capabilities
  2. Click "View and edit memory"
  3. Review what Claude remembers
  4. Edit summaries directly or add specific information

Tip: You can also tell Claude to remember something mid-conversation: "Remember that I prefer Python over JavaScript."

Manage Memory

Pause memory — Claude keeps existing memories but won't use them or create new ones

Reset memory — Permanently deletes all memories (cannot be undone)

To access these options, toggle memory off in Settings → Capabilities.

Part 3: Styles

Styles customize how Claude formats and delivers responses.

Create a Custom Style

  1. Go to Settings → Styles
  2. Click Create style
  3. Define your preferred format and tone
  4. Save and apply to conversations

Use Cases

  • Switch between concise and detailed responses
  • Match your writing style for drafts
  • Adjust tone for different contexts (professional, casual)

Chat Search (Paid Plans)

Memory includes the ability to search past conversations.

  1. Go to Settings → Capabilities
  2. Ensure "Search and reference chats" is enabled
  3. Ask Claude naturally: "What did we discuss about the Q3 roadmap?"

Claude uses RAG to find relevant past conversations.

Troubleshooting

Memory not available? - Requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan - Check Settings → Capabilities to enable - Enterprise users: verify your admin has enabled the feature

Claude not remembering things? - Memory updates within 24 hours of conversations - Project chats have separate memory from standalone chats - Check "View and edit memory" to see what's stored

Want to exclude a conversation from memory? - Use incognito mode for chats you don't want saved - Deleted conversations are removed from memory synthesis

Next Steps

  • Review the course slide deck for detailed walkthrough
  • Post in Slack if you encounter issues

Resources