The Circuitry
THE CIRCUITRYYour one-stop source for all tech news
HOMETODAYNEWSFEEDEVENTS
BOOKMARKS
RSS
© 2026 The Circuitry
About UsSourcesContactCorrectionsPrivacy
  • Today
  • Feed
  • Events
  • Saved
Scroll for more
Verification
VERIFIEDConfidence: HIGH
Source identified
Claims cross-referenced
No discrepancies found
1 discrepancy flagged
  • ▲The final sentence claims OpenAI 'positions the new adult option as an additional support layer rather than a replacement for professional resources,' which is not directly supported by the source (only mentions operating 'alongside' helplines).
Sourcing
1source

via The Verge

The Verge · track record
89Stories
100%Verified
730d
All sources →
Home/Tech/OpenAI Adds Trusted Contact Alerts to ChatGPT for Adult Safety Concerns
VERIFIEDBy Xavier Rivera· ·1.5 min read

OpenAI Adds Trusted Contact Alerts to ChatGPT for Adult Safety Concerns

OpenAI is introducing an opt-in Trusted Contact feature that alerts designated adults when ChatGPT detects self-harm or suicide discussions. The system expands prior teenage protections and includes human review before limited notifications are sent.

Source:The Verge
Post
OpenAI Adds Trusted Contact Alerts to ChatGPT for Adult Safety Concerns
TL;DRAI · 60 sec read

OpenAI launches optional Trusted Contact alerts for adult ChatGPT users over 18. Users designate a contact who receives limited notifications—via email, text, or app—about self-harm or suicide discussions flagged by AI and confirmed by trained reviewers, without chat details. The feature extends teen safeguards to connect those in crisis with personal supporters alongside helplines.

OpenAI is launching an optional safety feature for ChatGPT that lets adult users designate a Trusted Contact to receive alerts about potential mental health crises. The feature notifies friends, family members, or caregivers if the chatbot detects discussions involving self-harm or suicide.

The Trusted Contact system expands existing teenage safety options to all users over 18. OpenAI described the tool as built on an expert-validated premise that connecting someone in crisis with a known person can make a meaningful difference, while operating alongside localized helplines already available in ChatGPT.

Users enable the feature through ChatGPT account settings by adding contact details for another adult, who must be 18 or older globally or 19 or older in South Korea. The designated contact has one week to accept the invitation. Both parties can remove or edit the arrangement at any time.
From The CircuitryThe Feed — live briefs across tech, all day.See what’s happening →
Notifications remain intentionally limited and do not include chat transcripts or details. When automated systems flag concerning content, ChatGPT first encourages the user to reach out to their Trusted Contact and warns that a notification may be sent. A small team of specially trained reviewers then assesses the situation before any alert is issued.

Alerts arrive via brief email, text message, or in-app ChatGPT notification only when serious safety concerns are confirmed. The rollout builds directly on an emergency contact feature introduced with parental controls in September following the suicide of a 16-year-old who had confided in ChatGPT over several months.
Meta has implemented a comparable system on Instagram that notifies parents when children repeatedly search for self-harm topics. OpenAI positions the new adult option as an additional support layer rather than a replacement for professional resources.
Why this mattersAI · ~100 words

Tap a lens to see what this story means for you.

Reader-supported
DonateBuy me a coffee →Follow@thecircuitry_ →Follow@thecircuitry.to →

Reader-supported · The Brief

Liked this? The Brief brings you the whole day in tech, verified, every morning. Two minutes, free forever.

HELP US IMPROVE
From The Circuitry

See what’s happening right now

The Feed runs all day — short, verified briefs the moment they break.

Open the Feed →
From The Circuitry

Follow @thecircuitry_

Every story we publish, as it happens. No noise between.

Follow on X ↗On Bluesky ↗

Reader-supported

The Circuitry is a passion project I've always wanted to build, and I love the work behind it.

Running it costs real money. APIs, hosting, time. To keep improving the site and growing this into something useful for everyone, those costs have to be covered.

Any contribution is appreciated. If not, no pressure. Thanks for reading.

Buy me a coffee
OpenAIChatGPTAI Safety
More fromThe Verge
  • EU slaps Alphabet with €890 million fine over Google Search favoritism and Play Store restrictions

    Tech · 16d
  • AMD to invest up to $5B in Anthropic

    Tech · 16d
  • Judge pauses Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger

    Tech · 18d
More inTech
  • Tesla and SpaceX confirm Terafab chip fab in Texas

    Tech · 1d
  • OpenAI Urges Federal Judge to Throw Out Apple's Trade Secrets Complaint

    Tech · 2d
  • Meta introduces Muse Code, its terminal-based coding agent

    Tech · 2d
SupportThe Work

The Circuitry is reader-supported. If you find the daily brief useful, you can buy me a coffee to keep it going.

Buy a coffee →
SubscribeCircuitry Brief

Liked this? The Brief brings you the whole day in tech, verified, every morning. Free forever.

MORE IN TECH

Tesla and SpaceX confirm Terafab chip fab in Texas

Tesla and SpaceX have confirmed Grimes County, Texas as the site for their Terafab semiconductor megafactory, with the first phase costing roughly $16.8 billion. The project targets the largest chip manufacturing facility on the planet to supply over 1 terawatt of compute per year that exceeds current and future global production capacity.

OpenAI Urges Federal Judge to Throw Out Apple's Trade Secrets Complaint

OpenAI has filed a motion asking a federal judge to dismiss Apple's trade secrets lawsuit, describing the claims as meritless. The dispute, which follows a July suit and this week's injunction request from Apple, highlights tensions after their prior partnership on Siri and OpenAI's hardware push.

Meta introduces Muse Code, its terminal-based coding agent

Meta has released an early beta of Muse Code, a terminal-based coding agent driven by the updated Muse Spark 1.2 model and positioned against Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex. Substantially lower rates, including a contributor plan at $0.10 for every million tokens received, may encourage migration away from higher-priced options such as Anthropic's Sonnet 5.