OpenAI plans to open the floodgates to more adult uses of ChatGPT starting in December, according to a new post from CEO Sam Altman. The company announced that it would add parental controls and automatic age detection features in September, and it seems like a benefit of sorting out children from adults is an ability to offer more freedom in what ChatGPT can show users.
“In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” Altman says. Some avid ChatGPT users already regularly manipulate the chatbot to engage in NSFW conversations, but Altman’s announcement sounds more like tacit approval from OpenAI that those use-cases are okay.
The company signaled something similar during its DevDay 2025 announcements, when its new guidelines for developers creating apps for ChatGPT shared that “support for mature (18+) experiences will arrive once appropriate age verification and controls are in place.” After December, it sounds like adult interactions with ChatGPT or apps the chatbot can access are fair game.
All of these changes are being made in the shadow of disturbing stories of the seemingly negative influence ChatGPT can have on users, including the death of 16-year old Adam Raine, who allegedly used ChatGPT to plan his own suicide.
Reducing the chatbot’s sycophantic qualities with the release of GPT-5 was one of the ways OpenAI tried to address the mental health impacts of ChatGPT, along with built-in notifications to remind users to take breaks. It’s hard to definitively say whether these tweaks have made a difference, but combined with age-gating, it’s clear OpenAI feels comfortable giving its chatbot a longer leash.
