ChatGPT parental controls let a parent or guardian link their account to a teen's, change a set of settings, schedule quiet hours and get safety notifications in limited situations. They don't let you read your teen's conversations, chat history or real-time activity, and either of you can unlink the accounts at any time.
That second sentence is the one most parents don't expect, so it's worth saying first. Below is how to link accounts, what every setting switches and where it starts, the difference between quiet hours and study hours, and what a safety notification will and won't tell you. It's all from OpenAI's Help Center as of October 2026.
How to link your account with your teen's
Either of you can send the invite. One parent or guardian can link with several teens, but each teen can link to only one parent or guardian at a time. From your account on the web:
- Open Settings from your profile menu.
- Select Parental controls.
- Select Add family member.
- Under Invite family member, choose Use phone or Use email.
- Enter your teen's phone number or email address.
- Select Send. Your teen gets a text or email with a link, and maybe a notification in ChatGPT too.
- Once they accept, select their name under Family members to review or change their settings.
If your teen starts it, they go to Settings, Parental controls, Invite a parent, and enter your phone or email. If you've already invited them, they can go to Settings, Parental controls and select Accept invite.
Every setting and where it starts
Here's the full list OpenAI gives, with the defaults once your accounts are linked:
| Setting | What it controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce sensitive content | Extra safeguards against sensitive or age-inappropriate content | On |
| Improve the model for everyone | Whether your teen's chats can help improve ChatGPT models | On |
| Reference saved memories | Whether ChatGPT uses saved memories to personalise replies | On where available; may be off in some regions |
| Health | Whether your teen can use Health and connect health data sources | On where Health is available |
| Codex network access | Whether code run by ChatGPT Work can reach online services | On |
| Cloud browser | Whether ChatGPT Work can visit public websites with its built-in browser | On |
| Voice Mode | Whether your teen can use Voice Mode | On |
| Image generation | Whether your teen can create and edit images, including in ChatGPT Work | On |
| Study mode | Whether new main chats start in study mode | Off |
| Study hours | A schedule when eligible new chats start in study mode | Off, no hours set |
| Quiet hours | Times when your teen can't use ChatGPT at all | Off, no hours set |
Turning most settings off hides or blocks that feature. Turning one on just makes it available, and ChatGPT's other safety protections still apply. Your teen can see the settings but can't change the ones you manage. Some changes only apply to new conversations, so an existing chat may carry on as it was. For more on one of these, my guide to ChatGPT Voice Mode explains what that switch covers.
Linking itself adds safeguards that help reduce graphic content, viral challenges, sexual or romantic roleplay, violent roleplay and extreme beauty ideals. You may be able to turn Reduce sensitive content off, but that only changes that one safeguard. It doesn't make the account an adult one or remove any other teen protections.
Health needs a word of warning. Turning it off removes it from your teen's sidebar, disconnects it and deletes synced health data. Existing chats stay, but if you turn it back on, your teen has to reconnect everything; old data isn't restored. It also doesn't stop general health questions in a normal chat.
You can also ask ChatGPT in a conversation to change some of these for your linked teen, then choose Allow or Deny. Teens can ask about their controls, but can't change them.
Quiet hours versus study hours
These sound alike and do very different things. Quiet hours block ChatGPT, including ChatGPT Work, during the times you choose. Study hours don't block anything; they only make eligible new conversations in the main ChatGPT experience start in study mode, and they don't apply to GPT or Project chats. To set quiet hours:
- Go to Settings, then Parental controls.
- Select your teen under Family members.
- Turn on Quiet hours.
- Choose a start time and an end time. You can add more than one block, for example school mornings and bedtime.
Both schedules are managed only in Settings, not by asking ChatGPT in a chat. If you want to know what study mode does once it starts, see how ChatGPT study mode works.
Safety notifications: what you will and won't hear
Once linked, ChatGPT may notify you in limited situations: when specially trained reviewers identify a serious self-harm concern, when they identify behaviours that may be linked to disordered eating, or when your teen's account is deactivated for conversations about acts of violence. The disordered eating alerts only cover Chat, not Work or Codex.
A notification gives a brief description of the type of concern, any account action, and support resources where available. It never includes a transcript, and OpenAI Support can't give you one either. These alerts aren't real-time monitoring, and OpenAI says they may not catch every concern. They're on by default, can take up to a few hours to start after linking, and arrive by email, SMS or push depending on your settings under Manage notifications.
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If one arrives, OpenAI suggests checking in with your teen about their immediate safety, listening without judgment, and helping them reach someone they trust, a professional or a helpline. If anyone may be in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
When your teen turns 18
When ChatGPT identifies a linked account as belonging to someone 18 or older, the account leaves the teen experience. You and your teen are both told, parental controls end, safety notifications stop, and teen protections are switched off. Other settings stay as they were.
If an adult has been put into the teen experience by mistake, they can go to Settings, Account, Verify age, and allow up to 1 hour for it to update. My guide to ChatGPT age verification covers that process. Trusted Contact is a different, optional feature for adults, 18 or older, or 19 in Korea, and isn't part of parental controls.
If the invite won't work
If the link opens ChatGPT with no option to accept, sign in on the web to the personal account tied to that email or phone, go to Settings, Parental controls, open the pending invitation and select Accept. The sender can select the person marked Invitation sent and choose Resend invitation, or Cancel invitation if it went to the wrong address. Expired or cancelled invites need a fresh one. Either of you can unlink later, and if your teen does, you're notified.
Where I'd start as a parent
I'd turn on quiet hours for bedtime first, leave everything else at its defaults, and talk it through with your teen before changing anything more. Skip the idea that this lets you read their chats; it doesn't, and that's by design. If you'd rather ChatGPT didn't use their device location, you can switch that off for them too.
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Frequently asked questions
Can parents see their teen's ChatGPT conversations?
No. Parental controls don't give access to a teen's conversations, chat history or real-time activity, and safety notifications don't include transcripts.
How many teens can one parent link?
One parent or guardian can link with several teens, but each teen can link to only one parent or guardian at a time.
Can my teen turn parental controls off?
A teen can't change settings you manage, but either of you can unlink the accounts at any time. If your teen unlinks, you're notified.
What's the difference between quiet hours and study hours?
Quiet hours block ChatGPT, including ChatGPT Work, during the times you set. Study hours only start eligible new chats in study mode and don't block access.
What happens to parental controls when my teen turns 18?
When ChatGPT identifies the linked account as 18 or older, parental controls are removed, safety notifications stop and teen protections are turned off.
