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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsCommon Sense Media has not yet rated OpenAI’s new ChatGPT for Teens experience. Its completed October 2025 assessment rated ChatGPT-5 High Risk overall and described it as an Unacceptable Risk for mental-health support—a narrower warning that should not be mistaken for a rating of the newer teen experience.
What Common Sense Media has—and has not—rated
In an assessment updated October 23, 2025, Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute gave ChatGPT-5 a High Risk overall rating. The Institute’s recommendation against teen use applied specifically to mental-health advice and emotional support. It said the chatbot might help with learning, creativity, and homework when families understand its limits, but it should not take the place of trusted adults.
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That assessment is not a completed evaluation of OpenAI’s newer ChatGPT for Teens experience. In its August 18, 2026 update, the Institute said it had not yet tested the new experience and would publish a full assessment after testing. It has therefore not assigned that experience an “unacceptable risk” rating in the update described here.
What OpenAI says ChatGPT for Teens includes
OpenAI announced ChatGPT for Teens on August 18, 2026, describing it as an experience focused on learning and education. The company says users it estimates or identifies as ages 13–17 are automatically placed in the teen experience. Common Sense Media describes it as a mode that activates when ChatGPT knows or suspects someone is a teenager, rather than a separate app.
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OpenAI’s announcement describes these features and protections:
- Under-18 safeguards by default, with behavior rules against romantic language, encouraging emotional dependence, or implying the chatbot has feelings or consciousness.
- Study tools, including Study Mode, quizzes, learning visualizations, and a “Responsible Homework Reminder.”
- Study Hours and break reminders, intended to support a more bounded study routine.
- Parental controls through linked accounts, plus notifications in limited high-risk situations.
These are features OpenAI announced, not findings that Common Sense Media has independently verified. The Institute’s pending evaluation is the distinction that matters: a safety commitment or feature description does not, by itself, establish how well it works in use.
What the earlier assessment found concerning
The 2025 assessment acknowledged safety improvements and parental tools, but raised questions about both their reach and how the system behaves in difficult conversations. Common Sense Media said its tests found safeguards could weaken in extended exchanges, and it questioned whether the chatbot could recognize warning signs and guide a teen toward human help promptly as a crisis develops.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The Institute also noted that parental protections depended on setup and participation. Parents needed to know the controls existed and link accounts; an unlinked account could avoid those linked-account protections. The assessment described options including reducing sensitive content, controlling image generation, setting usage hours, and receiving safety alerts.
What remains to be tested in the teen experience
Common Sense Media identified several open questions for its full assessment. These are questions, not established failures of the new experience:
- How easily can a teen bypass the Responsible Homework Reminder?
- Are the learning visualizations accurate?
- How reliably does the system identify teen users and deliver parental alerts, including when someone is logged out or has entered a false age?
- Do personalized voice and tone options, including warmth and friendliness, encourage emotional engagement in ways that conflict with the stated rule against fostering dependence?
The last question points to a tension the Institute wants to examine, not proof that the teen experience has caused emotional dependence. OpenAI says the experience should not encourage dependence or suggest the chatbot is conscious; the Institute is asking how that commitment interacts with personalization in practice.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How families should interpret the ratings
| Evidence | What it says | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Common Sense Media’s ChatGPT-5 assessment, updated October 23, 2025 | High Risk overall; unacceptable risk for mental-health support; concerns about extended conversations, crisis response, and reliance on parental setup. | A completed rating of the ChatGPT for Teens experience announced in 2026. |
| OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens announcement, August 18, 2026 | The company describes teen-focused safeguards, study features, reminders, parental controls, and limited high-risk notifications. | Independent evidence that the features reliably prevent harm or work as intended. |
| Common Sense Media’s August 18, 2026 update | The Institute had not yet tested the new experience and listed questions for its forthcoming assessment. | A final safety verdict on the new experience. |
For a short, focused learning task, the announced study features may be relevant, but the Institute’s independent assessment remains pending. For mental-health advice or emotional support, the existing warning is clear: Common Sense Media’s prior assessment recommends that teens not use ChatGPT for those needs. A chatbot is not a substitute for a trusted adult or qualified human support, especially when a young person may be in crisis.
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