**OpenAI Adds Parental Controls to ChatGPT: How They Work**
*By Mudit Dube | Sep 29, 2025, 04:42 PM*
OpenAI has introduced new parental controls for its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, designed to give parents more oversight and control over their children’s usage. The latest update enables parents to link their accounts with their teens’ and implement various restrictions such as quiet hours and content filters.
### Enhanced Parental Controls
With this update, parents can connect their accounts to their teen’s ChatGPT profile, allowing them to manage settings like quiet hours, disable voice mode and image generation, and restrict memory usage and model training. Notably, these controls can only be adjusted by parents—not by teens themselves—ensuring the settings remain enforced as needed.
### Stronger Protections for Teens
Teen accounts linked to parents automatically receive enhanced safeguards aimed at reducing exposure to graphic content, viral challenges, romantic or violent roleplay, and extreme beauty ideals. While parents have the option to disable these protections, teens cannot opt out independently.
### Self-Harm Detection and Alerts
OpenAI has incorporated a self-harm notification system that alerts parents if ChatGPT detects signs suggesting their teen may be considering self-harm. In critical situations where there is an imminent threat, emergency services or law enforcement may be involved to ensure the teen’s safety.
### Additional Resources and Future Plans
To support families, OpenAI has launched a dedicated parent resource page offering information on how ChatGPT works, setup guides for parental controls, and ideas for encouraging positive use in schoolwork, creativity, and family activities. This page will be expanded over time with expert advice and tips for facilitating healthy conversations.
Looking ahead, OpenAI is developing an age prediction system that will automatically apply teen-appropriate settings for users under 18, further enhancing safety and customization.
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These new parental control features mark an important step in ensuring a safer and more manageable ChatGPT experience for young users while giving parents peace of mind.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/openai-rolls-out-parental-controls-for-chatgpt/story