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How to set up ChatGPT's parental controls to protect your teen

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Why This Matters

OpenAI now offers parental controls that let a parent link to a teen's ChatGPT account and manage its settings, reflecting mounting scrutiny over how minors use AI chatbots. The setup is invitation-based and works in both directions, and controls automatically end once OpenAI determines the user is an adult, at which point the accounts are unlinked.

Key Takeaways
Worth a Look

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Before you can apply parental controls to your child's ChatGPT experience, you need to link your accounts together:

Open the Settings menu from your profile page. Select Parental controls. On mobile, you can find that section under App settings. Tap or click Add family member. Under Invite by, select Email or Phone. Enter your teen's email address or phone number. Under This person is, select My child. Click or tap Send.

After you select send, your teen will receive an email or text inviting them to link their account. Once they accept, you'll see their name appear under the Family members section of the Parental controls menu. Select their name to review or change their individual settings.

Teens can also invite a parent to manage their account by following the same flow outlined above, but rather than indicating the account belongs to a child, they should select My parent or guardian instead.

Parental controls are only available while a child is under the age of 18. If OpenAI determines a ChatGPT for Teens user is now an adult, the company will move that person over to the regular ChatGPT experience. As a parent with a linked account, that transition will result in a few changes.

OpenAI will first send you and your child a message, notifying you both about the account status change. Any parental controls you had enabled will be disabled, and the connection between your accounts will be severed from that point on. It means you can no longer manage your child's account settings and you'll no longer receive teen safety notifications.