OpenAI will introduce a new age-gated content policy for ChatGPT in December, allowing verified adult users to access mature content, CEO Sam Altman announced on Tuesday. The change follows months of feedback from users frustrated by overly restrictive content filters.
“As we roll out age verification more broadly, we’ll allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” Altman wrote on X, saying the company’s approach is to “treat adult users like adults.” He noted that OpenAI had made ChatGPT “pretty restrictive” to safeguard users in mental distress, but that its new safety systems now make it possible to relax limits responsibly.
Altman added that a new ChatGPT update will let users customize the chatbot’s tone, style, and personality — from professional and factual to casual or emotionally expressive. “If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use emojis, or act like a friend, it should,” he said.
The shift reflects a broader move across the tech industry to balance user safety with creative freedom. Earlier the same day, Meta announced new teen protection filters for Instagram modeled after the PG-13 movie rating system, tightening restrictions for minors while expanding flexibility for adults.
