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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.
- Review the available settings and turn off any features you don't want your teen to use, such as Voice Mode, Image generation, Reference saved memories, Health (where available), Cloud browser, or Codex network access.
- Consider turning off “Improve the model for everyone”, which lets OpenAI use your teen's chats to improve its AI. OpenAI lists it as on by default for linked teen accounts (“Default: Enabled”).
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.
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.
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