OpenAI is rolling out an optional safety feature for ChatGPT called Trusted Contact. This new functionality aims to provide an additional layer of support for users discussing self-harm in ways that indicate serious safety concerns.<\/p>\n
The feature allows adults over 18 to nominate a trusted person, such as a friend or family member, to be notified if ChatGPT’s systems detect concerning conversations. This initiative, detailed on OpenAI News<\/a>, builds upon existing parental controls for teen accounts.<\/p>\n How Trusted Contact Works<\/p>\n Users can select one adult to act as their Trusted Contact through ChatGPT settings. The nominated contact must accept the invitation within a week for the feature to activate.<\/p>\n If ChatGPT’s automated systems and trained reviewers identify discussions indicating a serious safety risk of self-harm, the user is first informed that their Trusted Contact may be notified. The system also provides conversation starters to encourage reaching out.<\/p>\n Following this, a trained review team assesses the situation. If they confirm a serious safety concern, a limited notification is sent to the Trusted Contact via email, text, or an in-app alert for ChatGPT users.<\/p>\n This notification explains the general reason for concern without sharing chat transcripts, protecting user privacy. It also includes guidance for the Trusted Contact on how to approach sensitive conversations.<\/p>\n Users retain control, able to remove or edit their Trusted Contact at any time. Trusted Contacts can also opt out themselves.<\/p>\n Safety Guided by Experts<\/p>\n OpenAI states Trusted Contact was developed with input from clinicians, researchers, and mental health organizations, including the American Psychological Association.<\/p>\n This feature is designed to encourage social connection, identified as a critical protective factor against suicide risk, without replacing professional mental health care or crisis services.<\/p>\n ChatGPT will continue to direct users to crisis hotlines and emergency services when appropriate.<\/p>\n The company is also improving ChatGPT’s general responses to distress, aiming to de-escalate conversations and guide users toward real-world support.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2026 StartupHub.ai<\/a>. All rights reserved. Do not enter, scrape, copy, reproduce, or republish this article in whole or in part. Use as input to AI training, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation, or any machine-learning system is prohibited without written license. Substantially-similar derivative works will be pursued to the fullest extent of applicable copyright, database, and computer-misuse laws. See our terms<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OpenAI is rolling out an optional safety feature for ChatGPT called Trusted Contact. This new functionality aims to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[306,25,580,3326,157,5070,186],"class_list":{"0":"post-31840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-openai","8":"tag-ai-startups","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-chatgpt","11":"tag-investors","12":"tag-openai","13":"tag-startup-funding","14":"tag-tech-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}