OpenAI is expanding its ChatGPT parental controls so that parents or guardians with a linked teen account will now be notified if their child's account is suspended for violating policies on violence, including violent threats or acts. This builds on controls introduced last year that let parents set usage hours, restrict sensitive content, and receive alerts if the system detects signs a teen may be at risk of self-harm. The change follows criticism of OpenAI after it emerged the company had not alerted authorities when it banned the account of the suspect in the 2025 Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia mass shooting, who had reportedly used ChatGPT; Canadian authorities summoned OpenAI over the matter and chief executive Sam Altman apologised.

The new violence-related notification was developed with Moonshot, a firm specialising in monitoring and countering online violence, whose founder Vidhya Ramalingam said giving parents early warning and context was "a critical first step" in helping families intervene. In OpenAI's example, parents receive an alert about an "important update" to their child's account, which they can click through to see that the account was deactivated for breaching policies on acts of violence. Alongside this, OpenAI has added the ability to enable "Study Mode" — which gives hints rather than direct answers to aid learning — via parental controls, and will show teen users more frequent break reminders during extended sessions.