Parental controls launched for ChatGPT teen accounts

The company behind ChatGPT, OpenAl, launched new parental controls for teen accounts on Monday, a month after a California family filed a lawsuit alleging that its chatbot encouraged their son to take his life.

- NILESH CHRISTOPHER

CEO SAM Altman of OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said the company prioritizes "safety ahead of privacy and freedom for teens."

(KYLE GRILLOT Bloomberg)

With the new controls being rolled out starting Monday, parents can set specific hours when their kids cannot use ChatGPT, turn off voice mode, which allows users to interact with the chatbot, and prevent teens’ chat history from being saved in ChatGPT’s memory. Another option prevents teen data from being used to train OpenAI’s models.

“Parental controls allow parents to link their account with their teen’s account and customize settings for a safe, age-appropriate experience,” OpenAI said in a blog post about the new feature announcement.

Parents will have to connect their account to their children’s accounts to gain parental control.

Under these controls, parents of dependent accounts will receive a notification if ChatGPT recognizes potential signs that teens may harm themselves. A specialist team will review signs of trouble and contact parents by email, text message or mobile push alerts.