Open WebUI 0.12.3 adds encrypted chats and a packed set of AI workspace upgrades

Open WebUI 0.12.3 adds temporary end-to-end encrypted chats alongside a substantial set of improvements to its AI workspace. The new chats are off by default, and administrators must enable them and grant permission before people can use them.

Open WebUI Watch analysis

What happened

The release, published on 16 October, adds encrypted chats in direct messages and private group channels. Open WebUI says messages are encrypted in the browser using MLS, pass through the server without being saved, and are cleared when a participant leaves or reloads. Chats also end if membership or access changes. The feature requires HTTPS in production and disabled WebSocket server logging.

The update also brings changes to collaboration, search, file previews and the infrastructure used for streaming replies. Here are the changes most likely to matter in everyday use:

Our top picks

• Temporary encrypted chats
  Members can compare verification codes; administrators must enable the feature and grant its permission.
• Broader workspace search
  Search now covers chats, shared content, channels, direct messages and notes, with filters and highlighted matches.
• Ask about a file in the terminal
  Select text in a file and send it to the model with the file attached, or ask the model to edit it.
• Richer Markdown previews
  Previews add features including maths, diagrams, highlighted code and editable task-list checkboxes.
• More useful document previews
  Comments and replies appear in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files, with support for older .xls spreadsheets.
• Live shared-chat collaborators
  See who else has a chat open and view their profile cards.
• Lighter Redis streaming
  Streaming replies use a separate key, and instances subscribe only to rooms used by their connected people.
• More control over shared chats
  Eligible collaborators can edit prompts and regenerate replies, while others keep the branch they were viewing.

Why it matters

This is more than a routine version bump: Open WebUI is changing how people can search, collaborate and work with files around their AI chats. The encrypted-chat option is especially notable for teams handling sensitive conversations, but it is a feature with configuration requirements, not a magic privacy switch. Check the administrator settings and deployment requirements before relying on it.

Our read

The strength of 0.12.3 is the breadth: several small frictions across a self-hosted AI workspace get useful fixes at once. The encrypted-chat feature deserves attention, provided its limits are understood and administrators configure it properly. Open WebUI’s release notes describe the encryption behaviour; they are not an independent security assessment.

What to watch

• Whether administrators enable encrypted chats and configure the required permissions, HTTPS and logging settings.
• How the new search and file workflows behave in real deployments.
• Whether the Redis changes improve performance for installations using room channels.

Discussion spark: Would you enable temporary encrypted chats in a self-hosted AI workspace, or do the setup requirements make them too easy to misconfigure?

not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking for Open WebUI or its contributors