Amid the ongoing scrutiny and backlash against OpenAI over teen safety, the Sam Altman-owned AI startup has introduced a dedicated ChatGPT experience for teenagers with stronger safety protections and new parental controls. One question many parents may have is — Can they see what their child is talking about with ChatGPT? The answer is no.
According to the company, parents cannot see their teen’s chats or monitor conversations in real time. However, they may receive a safety alert in rare cases if OpenAI detects signs of a serious safety
OpenAI says thats parents can link their ChatGPT account with their teenager’s account and manage selected settings. These include features such as voice mode, image generation, group chats, sensitive-content controls and Study Mode.
Parents can also set Quiet Hours, during which ChatGPT cannot be used from the linked teen account.
Teen safety protections are also enabled by default. OpenAI says ChatGPT provides additional safeguards for users identified as being under 18. These protections aim to reduce exposure to sensitive or age-inappropriate content, including graphic violence, risky challenges, sexual or romantic roleplay, extreme beauty standards and unhealthy dieting or body-shaming content.
Another important part of the system is age prediction.
ChatGPT can use account information and other signals to estimate whether a user is likely to be under 18. If it identifies someone as a teen, the safer teen experience is applied by default. Adults who are incorrectly identified as teenagers can verify their age to remove the teen experience.
There is also a limit to parental control.
Teenagers can disconnect their account from a parent’s account, although the parent is notified if the accounts are unlinked. When a teen account is identified as belonging to someone aged 18 or older, the teen experience and parental controls are removed.
OpenAI’s new system is focused at finding a balance between teen safety and privacy. Parents get tools to set boundaries and receive alerts about serious risks, but they do not get a window into every conversation their child has with ChatGPT.
