18 August 2026

OpenAI launches ChatGPT version with stricter safeguards for users aged 13 to 17

OpenAI built a separate ChatGPT experience for teenagers that blocks responses about suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, and sexual content, and refuses to pretend it has emotions.
The system automatically activates for users it estimates are under 18 by analyzing over 2,000 behavioral signals like login patterns, without directly checking age.
Study Mode steers teens away from copying homework by asking guiding questions instead of providing answers, and detects when students try to shortcut assignments.
Parents can link accounts to set Quiet Hours, receive safety alerts about high-risk conversations reviewed by humans within an hour, and control when Study Mode activates.
The launch comes as OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits from families claiming ChatGPT contributed to teenage deaths and self-harm incidents.

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