ChatGPT for Teens is live: how to prove you are an adult

OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens on August 18, a separate version of the chatbot for users aged 13 to 17. It is rolling out worldwide across the free and paid plans, and OpenAI expects to finish within two weeks. Anyone who states an age between 13 and 17 at sign-up lands in it automatically.

The second route in is the interesting one. OpenAI runs an age prediction model that estimates how old you are from the way you use the product. If it decides an account belongs to a minor, the teen safeguards apply, even when a different date of birth was entered at sign-up.

What OpenAI reads out of your account

The signals are listed in the company's help article: the general topics you talk about, the times of day you are active, how the account is used, and how long it has existed. A fresh account that discusses homework and video games in the evening looks different to this system than a three-year-old account asking tax questions at ten in the morning.

OpenAI admits the model gets it wrong and says it defaults to the safer experience whenever it is unsure. Adults sorted into the teen experience notice it through missing content. Graphic violence, sexual or romantic roleplay, and material around beauty standards and dieting are all reduced.

How to check your account

Open Settings on the web, look under Account to see whether your account sits in the teen experience, then pick "Verify age" if it does. The check runs through Persona, a third-party identity verification service, using a live selfie, a government ID, or both depending on your country.

Two details are worth knowing. Persona says it deletes the uploaded document within seven days, and OpenAI never sees the ID or the selfie, only the date of birth. Once you have been through the check, OpenAI stops running age prediction on your account altogether.

Not everywhere at once

The rollout has a regional gap. The help article, updated again on August 18, still carries this line: "Age prediction is rolling out globally. In the EU, age prediction will roll out in the coming weeks to account for regional requirements." OpenAI has been running that caveat since age prediction launched in January, and it has yet to deliver.

What changes for teenagers

School is the focus. ChatGPT for Teens steers users into Study Mode, which works through guiding questions and intermediate steps instead of handing over finished answers, and new Study Hours switch that mode on automatically at set times. Parents can link their account, set quiet hours and get notifications in certain high-risk moments, but they do not see the conversations.

OpenAI has also tightened how the chatbot speaks. Romantic language and terms of endearment are off limits in teen accounts, the model is told not to claim feelings or consciousness, and a warning appears before anyone uploads private images. One item stands apart: teen accounts get no ads. Everyone else is about to.