All apps › ChatGPT
ChatGPT: AI settings for parents
Link your teen's account to set quiet hours and turn off voice, images, and memory. You can't read chats.
Can a parent turn it off? Partly
Partly. Parental controls can't delete or block ChatGPT. But once you link accounts, you can set quiet hours when it doesn't work, and turn off Voice Mode, image making, memory, and more.
What the AI feature is
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot. It can answer questions, help with homework, write, talk out loud (Voice Mode), and make pictures. Teens get “ChatGPT for Teens”, which adds extra protections.
Age rules
- ChatGPT is for ages 13 and up. Teens under 18 need a parent's permission (OpenAI Terms of Use).
- If ChatGPT thinks a user is under 18, based on the age they gave, a verified age, or OpenAI's age prediction, it switches on the teen version automatically.
Step by step
Link your account to your teen's
- Sign in to your own ChatGPT account.
- Open Settings, then Parental controls.
- Tap Add family member, choose phone or email, enter your teen's details, and tap Send.
- Your teen has to accept the invite.
Source: official help page
Change your teen's settings
- Open Settings, then Parental controls.
- Under Family members, pick your teen.
- Keep “Reduce sensitive content” on. It's on by default.
- Turn off anything you don't want, such as Voice Mode, Image generation, Reference saved memories, Cloud browser, or Codex network access.
- Consider turning off “Improve the model for everyone”, which lets OpenAI use chats to train its AI. OpenAI's page isn't clear about whether this starts on or off, so check it.
Source: official help page
Set quiet hours (when ChatGPT won't work)
- On the same page, turn on Quiet hours.
- Set a start and end time, for example bedtime to morning. You can add more than one time block.
- Optional: use Study hours to make new chats start in study mode during homework time.
Source: official help page
What parents should know
- You can't read your teen's chats. In rare cases, OpenAI sends a parent a safety notice with only the information needed.
- Your teen can't change the settings you control, but either of you can unlink the accounts. OpenAI says it will let you know if that happens.
- When ChatGPT decides an account belongs to someone 18 or older, teen protections can turn off and the parent link can end.
- Your teen could still use ChatGPT without signing in, or through other apps. Phone-level controls (Screen Time or Family Link) can block the app or the website.
Not confirmed yet
We couldn't confirm these from an official source. We'll update this page when we can.
- Whether “Improve the model for everyone” starts on or off for teens. The help page is unclear. Source
Sources
- OpenAI Help: Managing parental controls in ChatGPT
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT for Teens
- OpenAI: Parent resources
- OpenAI Terms of Use
Last checked: October 25, 2026. Made by OpenAI. App makers change settings often. If something looks different on your screen, tell us.
What Changed: the weekly email
One short email a week: new AI features in kids' apps, settings that moved, and what (if anything) you should do about it. Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Signups open soon. We only use your email to send the newsletter. Privacy