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Jeff Parsons
18 September 2025
OpenAI boss clarifies ChatGPT is not meant for kids
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(Image credit: Shutterstock / Getty IMages)
ChatGPT is currently developing an automated age-detection system that will be able to tell if a user is under 18. In some cases where that can’t be determined, the chatbot may start asking users to present ID as proof.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is improving its parental controls and is coming under increasing pressure due to the high-profile case of 16-year-old Adam Raine, whose family alleges ChatGPT contributed to his suicide.
CEO Sam Altman has clarified in a blog post entitled Teen safety, freedom, and privacy, that: “ChatGPT is intended for people 13 and up.”
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“We’re building an age-prediction system to estimate age based on how people use ChatGPT,” he wrote. “If there is doubt, we’ll play it safe and default to the under-18 experience. In some cases or countries we may also ask for an ID; we know this is a privacy compromise for adults but believe it is a worthy tradeoff.”
In some cases or countries we may also ask for an ID; we know this is a privacy compromise for adults but believe it is a worthy tradeoff.Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO
Altman goes on to explain that elements of ChatGPT’s responses will be censored for teens, like flirtatious chat responses or discussions around self-harm. He says the company will prioritize safety ahead of privacy and freedom for teens, explaining that minors need “significant protection”.
Finally, he adds that if a teenager does express suicidal thoughts to the chatbot, it will attempt to contact their parents and alert them. If that’s not possible, ChatGPT will try to contact the authorities.
“We realize that these principles are in conflict and not everyone will agree with how we are resolving that conflict,” Altman wrote. “These are difficult decisions, but after talking with experts, this is what we think is best and want to be transparent in our intentions.”
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ChatGPT Parental controls — what’s coming
(Image credit: fast-stock / Shutterstock)
ChatGPT’s incoming parental controls will let parents link their own account to their teen’s.
This enables them to apply settings on behalf of their child like setting “blackout hours” when they can’t use the platform or disabling the chat history. By linking the accounts, ChatGPT will also be able to notify parents if it detects signs of worrying or potentially harmful behaviour through its interactions with the child.
My colleague, Amanda Caswell, is an AI editor and mom-of-three. Read her thoughts on AI’s new parental controls and what she’d like to see from the company here.
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Jeff is UK Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide looking after the day-to-day output of the site’s British contingent.
A tech journalist for over a decade, he’s travelled the world testing any gadget he can get his hands on. Jeff has a keen interest in fitness and wearables as well as the latest tablets and laptops.
A lapsed gamer, he fondly remembers the days when technical problems were solved by taking out the cartridge and blowing out the dust.
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OpenAI Updates Safety Features Amid Lawsuit— Here’s What’s Changing
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