OpenAI has announced that it will roll out Parental Controls for ChatGPT within the next month, a significant move to strengthen protections for teen users. The new features are part of a broader 120-day initiative to make the AI assistant as helpful as possible, especially in sensitive situations.
Key Highlights
The new controls will give parents more oversight over their teens’ use of the platform:
- 1 Month: The timeline for the rollout of the new Parental Controls feature.
- 13: The minimum age for a teen’s account that can be linked to a parent’s account.
- 120 Days: The duration of OpenAI’s focused initiative on well-being and safety features.
- 250+ Physicians: The size of the Global Physician Network that is advising OpenAI on safety and well-being.
How Parental Controls Will Work
The new feature is designed to help families set healthy guidelines that fit a teen’s unique stage of development. Within the next month, parents will be able to:
- Link their account with their teen’s account through a simple email invitation.
- Control how ChatGPT responds to their teen with age-appropriate model behavior rules, which will be on by default.
- Manage and disable certain features, including memory and chat history.
- Receive notifications when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress.
A Broader Strategy for AI Safety
The introduction of parental controls is part of a larger, ongoing effort by OpenAI to improve how its models handle sensitive conversations. The company recently introduced a real-time router that can send conversations showing signs of acute distress to more advanced “reasoning models” like GPT-5-thinking, which are designed to provide more helpful and beneficial responses. This work is guided by an Expert Council on Well-Being and AI and a Global Physician Network of over 250 physicians, who provide specialized expertise on mental health and well-being.
Looking Ahead
As “AI natives” increasingly use these tools in their daily lives, OpenAI is taking proactive steps to create a safer environment. For the MENA region, the introduction of parental controls could be a welcome development, with the potential for future iterations to be adapted to align with local cultural and family values.
Source: OpenAI
