OpenAI Brings Parental Controls to ChatGPT for Enhanced Teen Safety

In Focus

• OpenAI is introducing parental controls on its popular ChatGPT
• OpenAI rolls out the controls following a lawsuit by parents whose teen died by suicide
• The new controls allow parents to link their accounts with those of their teens
• OpenAI worked with policymakers and lobby groups to develop features in the new controls

OpenAI is introducing parental controls on its popular chatbot, ChatGPT. According to Reuters, the AI startup is rolling out controls for both web and mobile users. OpenAI’s ChatGPT parental controls come after parents whose teen died by suicide sued the tech company in August 2025. In the lawsuit, the parents claim that ChatGPT allegedly coached the teen on methods of self harm.

Wide Range of Features

In a post shared on X, OpenAI said ChatGPT’s new controls allow parents to reduce teen exposure to sensitive content. The controls’s ChatGPT account linking feature provides stronger safeguards, allowing parents to link their accounts with those of their teens.

With the new OpenAI teen safeguards, parents can:

• Determine whether the OpenAI chatbot remembers past chats or not
• Decide whether those chats can be used to train AI models
• Set quiet hours for their teens, blocking access to ChatGPT at specific times
• Disable voice mode, image creation and editing

OpenAI said parents cannot access their teen’s chat transcripts. On rare occasions, parents may get notifications where OpenAI systems and trained reviewers detect signs of serious safety risks. However, such notifications would only provide the details parents need to support the safety of their teens. OpenAI also said parents will be notified if a teen delinks the account.

OpenAI’s Plan for Automatic Age Detection

The latest OpenAI safety features are part of the company’s efforts to make ChatGPT useful for all while making it safe for younger users. The AI startup has about 700 million people using its ChatGPT products each week.

Previously, the AI startup said it was developing an age prediction system capable of detecting whether users are below the age of 18 automatically, then apply appropriate protections. At the moment, this responsibility lies entirely on parents.

The AI startup is not the only tech company that has developed OpenAI teen safeguards. In April 2025, Meta unveiled teen accounts for Facebook and Messenger. The social media giant also added restrictions to Instagram Live. The restricted teen accounts automatically enroll young users into an app with in-built protections.

OpenAI said it worked with a wide range of experts to develop the features included in its parental controls. These experts include policy makers like Attorneys Generals of Delaware and California and representatives from lobby groups like Common Sense Media.

Important Highlights:

• On rare occasions, OpenAI systems may detect safety risks and send notifications to parents
• New parental controls are part of OpenAI’s efforts to make ChatGPT safe for younger users
• OpenAI is developing an age prediction system capable of detecting underage users automatically

Tightening Regulatory Scrutiny

In recent months, U.S. regulators tightened scrutiny on AI firms due to the potential negative effects of chatbots. In August 2025, Meta’s chatbot rules sparked concerns after it emerged that the company’s internal policies on chatbot behavior allow its AI models to engage children in conversations that are sensual or romantic.

Meta said it was reviewing its internal chatbot guidelines and affirmed that sensual conversations with children should not be allowed. Concerns over Meta’s guidelines on provocative chatbot behavior came barely a month after Grok faced backlash over antisemitism content. The Elon Musk-owned company deleted the content after X users complained that the AI bot generated content that praised Adolf Hitler.