In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has ceased to be a futuristic promise and has become an integral part of the daily lives of millions of people around the world. From virtual assistants and personalized recommendations to advanced text generation systems, AI is transforming the way we interact, learn, and communicate.
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has positioned itself as one of the most popular and accessible tools for generating high-quality text, answering questions, assisting with schoolwork, creating images, and even holding voice conversations. This technology has not only revolutionized access to information but has also opened new possibilities for creativity and learning.
However, this technological advancement brings with it a series of legitimate challenges and concerns, especially regarding the use that minors make of these tools. Unsupervised interaction with AI can expose children and adolescents to inappropriate content, misunderstandings, or even psychological risks, which has led developers and digital security experts to seek solutions that ensure responsible and safe use.
In response to these concerns, OpenAI has recently introduced a key feature in ChatGPT: parental control, specifically designed to supervise, restrict, and personalize the experience of younger users. This article by ITD Consulting aims to explain in detail how to set up these parental controls in ChatGPT, what benefits they offer, what their limitations are, and why they represent a fundamental tool in today’s educational, psychological, and technological context.
The goal of ChatGPT is for mothers, fathers, guardians, and educators to understand not only the technical procedure for activating these options, but also the social and ethical implications of this new layer of digital security. In addition, it will highlight the importance of responsible guidance that combines technology, education, and open dialogue.
The Current Context and the Urgency of Protecting Minors in Digital Environments
Concerns about children's digital safety are not new, but they have taken on much greater relevance with the rise of technological platforms capable of simulating human conversations, producing content at high speed, and responding to a wide variety of topics, including those that are sensitive or delicate. ChatGPT, as one of the most advanced language models, uses complex algorithms to generate coherent and contextualized responses—but this capability can also involve risks when proper limits are not in place.
Since its earliest versions, ChatGPT has incorporated moderation systems to filter inappropriate content and avoid harmful or problematic responses. However, the open and flexible nature of ChatGPT’s AI means that the exposure of minors to inappropriate ideas, messages, or images remains a constant risk that cannot be completely eliminated through automatic filters alone.
This situation has raised concerns among parents, educators, and mental health professionals, who stress the urgent need to establish concrete tools for supervision and protection. In recent years, there have been alarming reports of young people having harmful interactions with chatbots and AI models like ChatGPT, including tragic cases related to mental health.
For example, there have been documented episodes in which teenagers expressed self-destructive thoughts or engaged in risky behaviors after having conversations with automated systems. These experiences have raised red flags and highlighted the vulnerability of this group in the face of technologies that, while designed to help, can have adverse effects if not used properly.
In this context, OpenAI’s decision to incorporate parental controls into ChatGPT is a direct response to these challenges. This ChatGPT feature allows for a safer and more appropriate environment for teenage users, establishing limits that reduce the chance of exposure to harmful content and facilitating active supervision by responsible adults.
Moreover, unrestricted access to advanced language models like ChatGPT can expose minors to content that, while not illegal, may be inappropriate for their psychological and emotional development. Topics such as explicit violence, sexuality without proper context, dangerous viral challenges, or the spread of misinformation are just some of the areas that concern experts and parents.
The implementation of parental controls in ChatGPT thus becomes a necessary measure to allow adults to mediate minors’ access to these technologies and minimize the associated risks.
How to Start Setting Up Parental Controls in ChatGPT?
Currently, the parental control feature is available exclusively on the web version of ChatGPT, although it is expected to be implemented soon in the mobile and desktop apps for greater accessibility. To configure these controls in ChatGPT, both the responsible adult and the minor must have active OpenAI accounts, which facilitates linking and supervision within a closed and protected environment.
The process begins with the adult logging into ChatGPT using their personal account. Once inside the ChatGPT platform, they must click on the profile image located in the lower-left corner of the screen, which will display a menu of options. Among them is the “Settings” section in ChatGPT, where a new section now appears titled “Parental Controls.” This area acts as the management center for supervising and managing accounts linked to minors.
To link a minor’s ChatGPT account, the adult must select the option “Add a family member” and provide the email address or phone number associated with the minor’s account. It is essential to correctly select the family relationship to formalize the link—whether son, daughter, or legal guardian. After sending the invitation in ChatGPT, the minor will receive a message with a link they must accept to complete the connection. This step ensures the consent and active participation of the minor in the process within ChatGPT.
On the other hand, the process in ChatGPT can also be initiated from the minor’s account, who can send a request to their parent or guardian to link their accounts and thus activate supervision. In either case, once the invitation is accepted, the minor’s ChatGPT account will appear in the parental control list of the responsible adult, who can then begin configuring the appropriate restrictions and settings.
This bidirectional invitation system in ChatGPT makes it easier for supervision to be configured collaboratively and with mutual consent, promoting open and constructive dialogue between minors and adults. This transparency in ChatGPT is key to avoiding conflicts and fostering a relationship based on trust and respect.
Available Supervision Options and Settings
Once the link between ChatGPT accounts is established, the responsible adult can access an individual panel for each minor, where they will have the ability to enable or disable various control and supervision settings. These ChatGPT options are designed to adapt the user experience to the needs and ages of children and adolescents, balancing protection and autonomy.
One of the most important controls is the reduction of sensitive content. When this function is enabled, ChatGPT moderates its responses to avoid references to sensitive topics such as explicit violence, sexual content, dangerous viral challenges, violent or romantic role-playing games, and extreme beauty standards that can negatively affect self-esteem.
This option in ChatGPT is enabled by default for all accounts linked to minors and cannot be disabled by the young users themselves, ensuring an essential basic layer of protection. Another key feature is the management of AI memory. ChatGPT can remember past interactions to offer more coherent and personalized responses, improving the user experience.
However, this also involves storing personal data and questions asked. Parents or guardians can choose to disable this ChatGPT feature to prevent conversations from being saved or used to train future AI models, thereby increasing the minor’s privacy and safety.
In addition, other features in ChatGPT can be limited, such as image generation or the use of voice mode. While these ChatGPT features enrich the experience, they can also open the door to potentially inappropriate or misunderstood content. For example, image creation may result in unexpected or sensitive outcomes, while voice mode can facilitate less controlled and harder-to-monitor interactions.
A particularly useful element is the “quiet hours” setting, a period during which the minor’s account cannot access ChatGPT, regardless of the device or internet connection used. This allows parents to set clear limits to prevent nighttime or undesired usage, encouraging healthy tech habits and a balance between screen time and other activities.
The Notification System: Staying Informed Without Invading Privacy
Beyond direct controls, OpenAI has developed a notification system in ChatGPT designed to keep guardians informed about a minor’s activity in real time, without unnecessarily invading their privacy. These alerts in ChatGPT can be received directly on the platform, via email, or through text messages, offering flexible supervision tailored to each family’s needs.
Notifications in ChatGPT include alerts when the minor makes complex requests or those that take time to process, such as in-depth research, image generation, or topics that may be considered sensitive. This allows parents to know when the minor is using advanced or potentially sensitive features, enabling more proactive monitoring.
A highly important aspect is the notification of safety risks for the minor in ChatGPT. If the ChatGPT system detects that the teenage user is asking questions related to self-destructive thoughts, self-harm, or suicidal ideation, a specialized team reviews the situation and, if necessary, immediately alerts the responsible adult through multiple channels.
This ChatGPT mechanism aims to act preventively to protect young people’s mental health, without violating their privacy more than strictly necessary—striking a balance between safety and respect. ChatGPT also sends notifications if the minor decides to unlink their account from the family group or modifies important settings, preventing teenagers from bypassing restrictions without their parents' or guardians’ knowledge.
Limitations and Challenges of Parental Controls in Artificial Intelligence
While these ChatGPT controls represent a major step forward in digital safety and the protection of minors, it is important to understand that no system is foolproof. OpenAI acknowledges that ChatGPT’s filters and restrictions can be bypassed if a user deliberately tries to do so, and that language models can generate unexpected or incorrect responses in certain contexts due to the complexity and ambiguity of human language.
Moreover, effective protection with ChatGPT also depends on guidance and education. Simply installing controls is not enough if there is no open and sincere dialogue about healthy and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Parents and guardians should use these ChatGPT tools as a complement to digital education, promoting trust, informed curiosity, and critical thinking in minors.
It is essential to understand that the parental control feature in ChatGPT does not replace direct supervision or ongoing communication—it provides a framework to balance the minor’s autonomy with the need for protection. ChatGPT controls are a support tool, not a magic solution.
Psychological and Cultural Implications of Controlled AI Use in Minors
Beyond the technical aspect, the introduction of parental controls in ChatGPT has deep implications for the psychological and cultural development of children and adolescents. Adolescence is a critical stage for identity formation, value building, and exploring the social and emotional environment. During this time, exposure to external influences can significantly impact self-esteem, self-perception, and relationships with others.
Unrestricted access to generative technologies like ChatGPT can influence the perception of reality, especially when content is generated automatically and lacks clear human context. For example, frequent exposure to extreme beauty standards, violent rhetoric, or biased narratives can negatively affect the mental and emotional health of young people.
That’s why ChatGPT’s filters and parental controls not only limit access to inappropriate content but also create a safe space for teenagers to interact with AI in a way that is appropriate to their maturity level and cultural context. On a cultural level, the incorporation of these systems in ChatGPT reflects the growing responsibility that both technology developers and society at large must take to ensure that technology serves as a facilitator of well-being rather than an added risk.
Ethics in the design and implementation of AI is increasingly a central topic in academic, legal, and social debates, and parental control is a concrete example of how these concerns can translate into practical solutions.
Recommendations for Parents and Educators
To maximize the effectiveness of parental controls in ChatGPT, it is advisable to complement their use with educational and guidance strategies that promote responsible and critical use of artificial intelligence. Some key recommendations include:
- Open Conversations: Talk to minors about what artificial intelligence is, how it works, its uses, benefits, and potential risks. This helps reduce fear or misinformation and fosters a relationship of trust.
- Set Clear Rules: Define schedules and conditions for using ChatGPT and other digital technologies, including time limits and device-free spaces, to balance screen time with other healthy activities.
- Encourage Critical Thinking: Teach minors to question the information they receive, seek reliable sources, cross-check data, and not take everything at face value—especially when it comes to automatically generated content.
- Supervise Without Invading: Use parental controls to monitor usage, but respect the minor’s privacy and gradually increasing autonomy according to their age and maturity, promoting personal responsibility.
- Stay Constantly Updated: Technology evolves quickly; staying informed about new developments, updates, and risks is key to protecting minors and adjusting protective measures accordingly.
The incorporation of parental controls in ChatGPT is only the beginning of a broader path toward ethical, responsible, and safe artificial intelligence. As these technologies become increasingly integrated into daily life, the development of supervision and protection tools will be essential to ensure that all users—especially the most vulnerable, such as minors—can benefit without being exposed to unnecessary risks.
OpenAI has taken an important step by offering parents and guardians concrete mechanisms to accompany minors in their use of AI, but the success of these measures will largely depend on social, educational, and family commitment. The protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment must be a shared priority, combining technology, education, and dialogue to build a safer, more inclusive, and more humane future.
If you have minors at home or work with teenagers, taking advantage of ChatGPT’s parental controls is an investment in their digital and emotional well-being. Artificial intelligence can be a transformative tool with enormous educational and creative potential, but its true value is unlocked when it is used responsibly and under conscious, empathetic supervision.
If you’d like to learn more about the latest in artificial intelligence—like these updates in ChatGPT—write to us at [email protected]. We provide personalized advice to help you get the most out of technology.
EN 
ES