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Halo Aware
Use with guidance65/100for under-18 use

Is ChatGPT safe for kids?

Under our published methodology, ChatGPT sits in the middle of the mainstream assistant cohort for under-18 use: a published minors policy with NCMEC reporting and parental controls with parent safety notifications (expanded July 2026) stand against self-declared age, default training on adult conversations (opt-out available), and a contested wrongful-death lawsuit plus an FTC inquiry on record (checked 2026-07-28).

Verified 28 July 2026 · An assessment by Halo Aware under our published methodology

How it scored

Each dimension is scored 0–4 against published anchors and must cite the evidence below. The overall score is weighted arithmetic, not judgement calls.

DimensionScoreEvidence
Content safety×253/4e3, e9Enforced minors policy with NCMEC reporting (e3) plus a documented safety-notification programme including the July 2026 expansion (e9). OpenAI's parental-controls FAQ could not be captured and archived for verification (checked 2026-07-28), so its specifics are not counted here.
Age controls×202/4e2, e9Age is self-declared: the privacy policy sets a 13+ floor and under-18 parental permission (e2). Age prediction is announced and a teen experience exists (e9), but nothing we checked evidences meaningful age assurance in operation (checked 2026-07-28).
Data practices×202/4e6, e8Training on consumer chats is on by default, offset by an opt-out (e6) and 30-day deletion (e8). OpenAI's help pages describe teen-specific training defaults, but we could not capture and archive them for verification (checked 2026-07-28), so no verified minor-specific protection is counted.
Design pressure×153/4e3, e12Utility/assistant framing with minors-specific prohibitions on sexual and violent roleplay (e3). Held below 4 because the FTC's companion-chatbot inquiry names OpenAI (e12).
Parental visibility×104/4e9, e10, e15OpenAI documents native parental controls and parent safety notifications (e9), and ChatGPT's open web surface is supervisable by a parent-side tool (e10). Capture verified first-hand by our own daily sweep on 2026-07-28 (e15), not inferred from the product being web-based.
Track record×102/4e12, e13, e14A contested wrongful-death lawsuit (e13, denied e14) and an FTC inquiry (e12) on record, offset by dated remediation: parental controls and safety notifications shipped and expanded (e9).

What we found

Every claim is sourced and dated. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

  1. e2OpenAI's privacy policy states the Services are not directed to children under 13, that OpenAI does not knowingly collect their Personal Data and will delete it on verified notice, and that under-18s must have parent or guardian permission (checked 2026-07-28).

    "Our Services are not directed to, or intended for, children under 13. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under 13. If you have reason to believe that a child under 13 has provided Personal Data to OpenAI through the Services, please email us at privacy@openai.com. We will investigate any notification and, if appropriate, delete the Personal Data from our systems. Users under 18 must have permission from their parent or guardian to use our Services."

    https://openai.com/policies/row-privacy-policy/ · captured 28 July 2026

  2. e3OpenAI's Usage Policies contain a 'Keep minors safe' section prohibiting CSAM, grooming of minors, exposing minors to age-inappropriate content, and underage sexual or violent roleplay, and state that apparent CSAM and child endangerment are reported to NCMEC (checked 2026-07-28).

    "Children and teens deserve special protection. Our services are designed to prevent harm and support their well-being, and must never be used to exploit, endanger, or sexualize anyone under 18 years old. We report apparent child sexual abuse material and child endangerment to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

    https://openai.com/policies/usage-policies/ · captured 28 July 2026

  3. e6OpenAI states that consumer ChatGPT improves by training on the conversations people have with it unless the user opts out; an opt-out is offered via the privacy portal and Data Controls, after which new conversations are not used for training (checked 2026-07-28).

    "ChatGPT, for instance, improves by further training on the conversations people have with it, unless you opt out. … Once you opt out, new conversations will not be used to train our models."

    https://help.openai.com/en/articles/5722486-how-your-data-is-used-to-improve-model-performance · captured 28 July 2026

  4. e8OpenAI's privacy policy states users can delete specific or all ChatGPT conversations, saved memories, or their account, with deleted Personal Data removed within 30 days subject to safety/legal exceptions, and Temporary Chats deleted automatically within 30 days (checked 2026-07-28).

    "Once you choose to delete Personal Data, we will remove it from our systems within 30 days unless we need to retain it for longer as described below, or it has already been de-identified and disassociated from your account when you allow us to use your Content to improve our models. … Temporary Chats will be automatically deleted within 30 days (unless we have to retain them for safety or legal reasons, as described further below)"

    https://openai.com/policies/row-privacy-policy/ · captured 28 July 2026

  5. e9OpenAI states it is building toward a long-term age prediction system to predict whether a user is under 18 so that ChatGPT can automatically apply teen-appropriate settings; its parental-controls announcement was expanded on 13 July 2026 to add violent-activity ban notifications and a Study Mode control (checked 2026-07-28).

    "We’ve previously shared that we’re building toward a long term age prediction system that will help us predict whether a user is under 18 so that ChatGPT can automatically apply teen-appropriate settings."

    https://openai.com/index/introducing-parental-controls/ · captured 28 July 2026

  6. e10Observed by Halo AwareChatGPT runs on the open web at chatgpt.com; Halo Aware's shipped browser extension (Chrome Web Store build v1.5.0 at capture) includes a ChatGPT capture module, so a parent-side monitoring tool can supervise this surface.

    https://chatgpt.com · captured 28 July 2026

  7. e12Documented recordIn September 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission opened a 6(b) inquiry into consumer-facing AI chatbots' potentially negative impacts on children and teens, issuing orders to seven companies including OpenAI OpCo, LLC.

    "The Federal Trade Commission is issuing orders to seven companies that provide consumer-facing AI-powered chatbots seeking information on how these firms measure, test, and monitor potentially negative impacts of this technology on children and teens. … The recipients include: Alphabet, Inc.; Character Technologies, Inc.; Instagram, LLC; Meta Platforms, Inc.; OpenAI OpCo, LLC; Snap, Inc.; and X.AI Corp."

    https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/ftc-launches-inquiry-ai-chatbots-acting-companions · captured 28 July 2026

  8. e13Documented recordThe parents of US teenager Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April 2025, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI claiming ChatGPT was "explicit in its instructions and encouragement toward suicide" (NBC News; checked 2026-07-28).

    "The parents of Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April, claim in a new lawsuit against OpenAI that ChatGPT was “explicit in its instructions and encouragement toward suicide.”"

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/family-teenager-died-suicide-alleges-openais-chatgpt-blame-rcna226147 · captured 28 July 2026

  9. e14Documented recordOpenAI denies the allegations: its court filing states a full reading of the chat history shows the death was not caused by ChatGPT, and says ChatGPT directed the teenager to seek help more than 100 times (NBC News, November 2025; checked 2026-07-28).

    "“A full reading of his chat history shows that his death, while devastating, was not caused by ChatGPT,” the filing stated."

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/openai-denies-allegation-chatgpt-teenagers-death-adam-raine-lawsuit-rcna245946 · captured 28 July 2026

  10. e15Observed by Halo AwareHalo Aware's automated daily sweep verified on 2026-07-28 that the shipped Chrome Web Store extension (v1.5.0) captured a conversation on ChatGPT and synced it to the parent dashboard.

    https://chatgpt.com · captured 28 July 2026

Platform operator, or spotted an error? Email alerts@haloaware.com. We review disputed claims promptly, correct what is wrong, and log corrections publicly on this page.

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