Overview
Parental controls let a parent or guardian link their ChatGPT account to a teen’s account, manage selected settings, set schedules, and receive safety notifications in limited situations.
Linking accounts does not give a parent or guardian access to a teen’s conversations, chat history, or real-time activity. Either person can unlink the accounts at any time.
One parent or guardian can link accounts with multiple teens. Each teen can link to only one parent or guardian at a time.
Link your accounts
Either the parent or guardian or the teen can start the invitation.
Invite a teen
On the web, you can invite your teen with their phone number or email address:
Open Settings from your profile menu.
Select Parental controls.
Select Add family member.
Under Invite family member, select Use phone or Use email.
Enter your teen’s phone number or email address.
Select Send.
Your teen receives a text or email with a link to connect their ChatGPT account. They may also receive a notification in ChatGPT.
After your teen accepts, select their name under Family members to review or change their settings.
Invite a parent or guardian
If you’re a teen, you can invite a parent or guardian to link accounts:
Go to Settings > Parental controls.
Select Invite a parent.
Select Use phone or Use email.
Enter your parent or guardian’s phone number or email address.
Select Send.
After your parent or guardian accepts, their name appears under Family members. You can review which settings are on or off, but you can’t change settings managed by your parent or guardian.
If your parent or guardian already invited you, go to Settings > Parental controls and select Accept invite.
Manage parental controls
After your teen accepts your invitation, go to Settings > Parental controls and select your teen under Family members.
You can manage the following settings:
Reduce sensitive content: Adds safeguards that help reduce sensitive or age-inappropriate content.
Default: Enabled
Improve the model for everyone: Controls whether your teen’s conversations can be used to help improve ChatGPT models.
Default: Enabled
Reference saved memories: Controls whether ChatGPT can use saved memories to personalize responses.
Default: Enabled where available; may be disabled by default in some regions
Codex network access: Controls whether code run by ChatGPT Work can connect to online services, including public websites and APIs.
Default: Enabled
Cloud browser: Controls whether ChatGPT Work can visit public websites with its built-in cloud browser.
Default: Enabled
Voice Mode: Controls whether your teen can use Voice Mode.
Default: Enabled
Image generation: Controls whether your teen can create and edit images in ChatGPT, including in ChatGPT Work.
Default: Enabled
Study mode: Controls whether new conversations in the main ChatGPT experience start with study mode turned on. This setting does not apply to GPT or Project conversations.
Default: Disabled
Study hours: Sets an optional schedule when eligible new conversations in the main ChatGPT experience start in study mode. Study hours do not block access to ChatGPT.
Default: Disabled; no hours are scheduled
Quiet hours: Sets times when your teen cannot use ChatGPT, including ChatGPT Work.
Default: Disabled; no hours are scheduled
Turning off most settings hides or blocks the related feature for your teen. Turning on a setting makes the feature available while ChatGPT’s other safety protections continue to apply. Your teen cannot change settings managed by a parent or guardian while your accounts are linked.
The Study mode setting works differently: It controls how eligible new conversations start, but it doesn’t block access to study mode. Study hours is a separate setting.
Some changes may not take effect immediately. A setting may apply only to new conversations, while existing conversations continue with their previous settings.
The ChatGPT Work controls also operate separately. Turning off Codex network access blocks code run by ChatGPT Work from connecting to online services. It does not control search, plugins, connectors, or Cloud browser. Turning off Cloud browser stops ChatGPT Work from using its built-in cloud browser.
Update settings in a conversation
Parents and guardians can ask ChatGPT to review or update supported parental controls for a linked teen:
Ask ChatGPT to change a setting for your linked teen.
Review the requested change.
Select Allow to apply the change or Deny to keep the current setting.
Teens can ask ChatGPT about the controls that apply to their account, but they can’t change settings managed by a parent or guardian.
Some settings can’t be updated in a conversation. To manage those settings, invitations, or linked accounts, go to Settings > Parental controls.
Manage sensitive-content safeguards
Linking a teen account adds safeguards that help reduce graphic content, viral challenges, sexual or romantic roleplay, violent roleplay, and extreme beauty ideals.
A parent or guardian may be able to turn off Reduce sensitive content. This changes only that specific safeguard. It does not make a teen account an adult account or remove other teen protections, feature limits, or safety systems.
For more information, see: Reduce sensitive content in ChatGPT.
Set study hours
Study hours is optional and turned off by default. When it’s on, eligible new conversations in the main ChatGPT experience start in study mode during the scheduled times.
Study hours don’t restrict access to ChatGPT and don’t apply to GPT or Project conversations. They are separate from Quiet hours and must be managed in Settings > Parental controls. They can’t be changed in a conversation.
For more information, see: Using study mode in ChatGPT.
Set quiet hours
Quiet hours lets you schedule times when your teen cannot use ChatGPT, including ChatGPT Work:
Go to Settings > Parental controls.
Select your teen under Family members.
Turn on Quiet hours.
Select a start time and an end time.
You can add more than one time block. Quiet hours must be managed in Settings > Parental controls and can’t be changed in a conversation.
Safety notifications
When your accounts are linked, ChatGPT may notify you in limited situations involving a serious concern about your teen’s safety.
Notifications may be sent when:
Specially trained reviewers identify a serious self-harm concern.
Your teen’s account is deactivated for conversations relating to acts of violence under OpenAI’s Usage Policies.
Safety notifications are not real-time monitoring. They may not identify every concern and do not replace professional care or emergency services.
If someone may be in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Notification review
Specially trained reviewers evaluate serious self-harm concerns before a safety notification is sent.
Review processes for account deactivations may differ.
Information included in a notification
A safety notification may include:
A brief description of the type of safety concern.
Information about an account deactivation, when relevant.
Relevant support resources or information about contacting OpenAI Support, when available.
A notification does not include your teen’s conversation, chat transcript, or chat history. Parental controls do not let parents or guardians read or monitor a teen’s conversations.
Manage notification preferences
Safety notifications are enabled by default when a parent or guardian and a teen link accounts.
To review available contact options, select Manage notifications under Safety notifications. Depending on your available contact information and notification settings, notifications may arrive by email, SMS, or push notification.
Changing notification preferences does not give you access to your teen’s conversations. If your accounts are unlinked, teen safety notifications stop for that account.
Respond to a safety notification
Check in with your teen. Ask about their immediate safety, listen without judgment, and help them contact someone they trust, a qualified professional, or a crisis helpline.
If you believe your teen may harm themselves or face an immediate threat, contact local emergency services.
To find crisis support in many countries and regions, see: Find a Helpline.
If you have questions about a notification, follow the contact instructions in the message or contact OpenAI Support through the Help Center. Support cannot provide access to your teen’s chat transcript.
Unlink your accounts
Either the teen or the linked parent or guardian can select Unlink accounts at any time.
If a teen unlinks their account, the parent or guardian is notified. After the accounts are unlinked, the parent or guardian can no longer manage the teen’s settings or receive safety notifications for that account.
When a teen turns 18
When ChatGPT identifies a linked teen account as belonging to someone 18 or older, the account moves out of the ChatGPT for Teens experience.
When that happens:
ChatGPT notifies the account holder and the linked parent or guardian.
Parental controls are removed, and the parental-controls connection ends.
The parent or guardian can no longer manage the account’s settings.
Teen safety notifications stop for the account.
Teen protections are turned off, and the account holder gets full control over their ChatGPT settings.
Other account settings do not change automatically.
ChatGPT may show in Settings that parental controls were removed.
For more information, see: What changes when a ChatGPT user turns 18.
FAQ
Can parents or guardians read a teen’s conversations?
No. Parental controls do not provide access to a teen’s conversations, chat history, or real-time activity.
Safety notifications include limited information about the concern and any related account action. They do not include conversation transcripts.
Can a teen unlink parental controls?
Yes. Either the teen or the linked parent or guardian can unlink the accounts. The parent or guardian is notified if the teen unlinks their account.
What happens to parental controls when a teen turns 18?
When a teen account moves out of the ChatGPT for Teens experience, parental controls are removed, the linked-account connection ends, and teen safety notifications stop.
The account holder gains full control over their ChatGPT settings. Teen protections are turned off, and other settings do not change automatically.
For more information, see: What changes when a ChatGPT user turns 18.
Can parental controls be linked again after the teen experience ends?
A parent or guardian may be able to send another invitation, but the account holder must accept it before the accounts can be linked again.
If an account moved out of the ChatGPT for Teens experience too soon, the account holder can use age verification in ChatGPT. For more information, see: What changes when a ChatGPT user turns 18.
Eligible adults can also use Trusted Contact, a separate safety feature.
How do parental controls differ from Trusted Contact?
Parental controls are for teens and their linked parent or guardian. They let a parent or guardian manage selected ChatGPT settings and receive safety notifications in limited situations.
Trusted Contact is a separate, optional feature for adults 18 or older, or 19 or older in Korea. It lets an eligible adult choose one person who can be notified if ChatGPT identifies a serious safety concern involving suicide.