OpenAI has announced updates to it’s new Privacy Policy, introducing clearer explanations on data handling, new optional features, and expanded safeguards for younger users. The changes aim to provide more transparency about what data OpenAI collects, how it’s used, and what control users retain over their personal information.

Here’s what’s changing:

Finding friends on OpenAI services
You can now choose to sync your contacts to see who else is using our services. This is completely optional.

Age prediction & safeguards for teens

To decide when to turn on these settings, ChatGPT uses an age prediction system. It looks at different signals linked to your account. For example, it may look at general topics you talk about or the times of day you use ChatGPT.

No system is perfect. Sometimes we may get it wrong. If you are 18 or older and you were put into the under-18 experience by mistake, you can verify your age.

What changes if they think you are under 18:

If their systems think you are under 18, ChatGPT turns on extra safety settings. You can still use ChatGPT to learn, create, and ask questions. But you will not be shown ads in your account. Some topics are handled more carefully to help reduce sensitive content, such as:

  • Graphic violence or gore

  • Viral challenges that could push risky or harmful behavior

  • Sexual, romantic, or violent role play

  • Content that promotes extreme beauty standards, unhealthy dieting, or body shaming

Verify your age (18+)

If you are logged in, you can start age verification on their website. If you are in Italy, you have 60 days from the time you are asked to verify before some features may be disabled.

To verify your age:

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT on the web.

  2. Open Settings.

  3. Under Account, check whether you are in under-18 mode, then choose Verify age.

  4. Follow the steps with Persona.

New tools and features
They’ve added details about Atlas, parental controls for teen accounts, and other upcoming features such as Sora 2.

More transparency around data
They explain how long we keep data, your controls, and the legal bases we rely on when processing your personal data.

OpenAI’s latest privacy updates arrive at a time when trust in digital content is under real pressure, and the stakes could not be higher for both individuals and businesses.

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