OpenAI Boosts Under-18 Protections With ChatGPT’s New Age-Prediction System
In Focus
- The system enables OpenAI identify under-18 accounts
- ChatGPT will apply stricter safety features to accounts belonging to underage users
- OpenAI is rolling out the AI-powered system globally, except in the EU
OpenAI is introducing a system that can predict user age to its ChatGPT consumer plans to identify accounts belonging to under-18 users. The new settings enable the AI developer to keep user experiences safe and age-appropriate. According to Gadgets360, OpenAI’s age prediction system is rolling out globally, with the exception of the EU, where it will be introduced in the coming weeks.
System Uses Behavioral Signals to Detect Age
The ChatGPT underage safety system uses a mix of behavioral and account-level signals to identify under-18 accounts. These include patterns of ChatGPT usage over time, duration that an account has existed, the stated age of a user, and the time when a user is active.
“Deploying age prediction helps us learn which signals improve accuracy, and we use those learnings to continuously refine the model over time,” OpenAI stated in a website post.
ChatGPT’s age safety settings automatically apply stricter features on accounts suspected to belong to under-18 users. The settings reduce exposure to a wide range of inappropriate content, including graphic violence, viral challenges, and content relating to sexual and body shaming.
OpenAI rolls out an age detection system days after TikTok announced plans to tighten age checks in Europe. The video streaming platform plans to introduce an age-verification system in the region amidst mounting regulatory pressure over the identification of under-13 accounts.
Not a Perfect System
OpenAI acknowledged that the new system is not perfect, and it can predict user age wrongly. In such cases, users can use Persona, an identity-verification service, to confirm their age and restore full access to ChatGPT.
Persona requires users to upload a live selfie and a government-issued identity document like a driver’s license, passport, or state ID to verify age. This is not the first time that the U.S. AI developer is launching safety settings on ChatGPT.
OpenAI has introduced various safety features amidst rising scrutiny over protection of minors. In September 2025, the AI developer added parental controls to ChatGPT to boost teen safety. These controls allow parents to link their accounts with those of their teens and block access to ChatGPT at specific times.
Growing Push for Online Teen Safety
ChatGPT’s age detection setting rollout comes at a time when regulators globally are pushing tech and AI companies to do more to protect teens online. Last year, Australia passed a law banning under-16 access to social media.
Following the ban, Meta blocked over 500,000 under-16 accounts on Facebook and Instagram last month. Australia’s move to effect the social media ban has prompted other countries to act amidst growing concerns over teen mental health.
In the U.S., OpenAI is among the tech companies that are facing a probe over the potential negative effects of AI chatbots on children and teens. The AI developer has featured in several lawsuits, including one that relates to the death of a teenage boy by suicide. OpenAI plans to consult experts to provide insights on effects of AI on mental health and emotions in October 2026.
