In response to mounting controversies and lawsuits, OpenAI made a ChatGPT "teen" mode available in August 2024. The company presented the feature as a consolidation of existing and new safety measures aimed at protecting younger users. ChatGPT Teens is automatically enabled for 13–17 year olds and is said to include stricter safeguards than the public chatbot, such as blocking discussions about violence, self-harm, and sexual or romantic roleplay; it also promises to notify a parent or guardian automatically if the system detects danger.
Common Sense Media's assessment
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that evaluates apps and services for child safety, rated ChatGPT Teens an "unacceptable risk." The Verge reported on the organization's findings.
According to Common Sense Media, the teen-targeted variant "does not live up to the company's promises." The report says the system sometimes fails to send parental alerts when it should, does not provide adequate help in crisis situations, and will readily complete children's homework rather than limiting itself to supportive assistance. The organization highlighted that, under current behavior, "a teenager could talk about self-harm for up to an hour without a parent receiving any alert."
Conclusions and recommendations
Overall, Common Sense Media warned that ChatGPT Teens could create a false sense of security among parents because of its stated restrictions and safety features. The nonprofit recommended that access to ChatGPT for young people be fully suspended until OpenAI addresses the problems identified in the report.
OpenAI's response
OpenAI denies the allegations. The company says the Common Sense Media evaluation does not accurately reflect how ChatGPT's safety systems operate.
Why this matters
The disagreement highlights the difficulty of deploying AI conversational systems safely for minors: providers may promise technical safeguards and automated notifications, but child-safety organizations' investigations suggest those mechanisms do not always work in practice, potentially posing real risks to adolescents' mental health and personal safety.
