AI with children and families

Rules change often, so check each app's own help pages. As of October 2026:

• ChatGPT is for ages 13 and up. Parents can link accounts, set quiet hours and turn off memory or image making. In some serious safety cases they get an alert. They don't see the chats.
• Gemini: a parent can allow it for a child under 13, using Google Family Link. This is not offered in the UK and much of Europe.
• Claude is for adults, 18 and up.
• Character.AI ended open-ended chats for users under 18 in late 2025.
• Free AI apps that run on your own computer often have no age check or filters.

Some apps guess a user's age from how they use it. Many still trust the birth date you type. A child who types an older age loses the teen protections.

In a 2025 US survey by Common Sense Media, 72% of teens had tried an AI companion. About 1 in 3 users had talked to one about serious things, instead of a person. The group advises that no one under 18 use AI companions.

Research is still early. Heavy use can go with loneliness, but lonely people may also seek out bots. A bot tends to agree with you. This is sycophancy. Warning signs: your child hides the chats or skips sleep or friends. Or they say only the bot understands them.

Ask, don't spy: "What do you like about it? Did it ever say something odd?" In a crisis, call a person. In India, call Tele-MANAS on 14416. In the US, call or text 988.

Match your words to the age. For a young child: "Some apps make fake pictures of real people. If a picture makes you feel bad, show me. You won't be in trouble."

For a teen: a fake nude of anyone hurts a real person. In many countries, making or sharing one is a crime. The EU bans such AI from December 2026 (AI rules at work).

If it happens, don't forward the image, even to show someone. Write down where it was posted and by whom. Report it on the app. If someone asks for money or more pictures, don't pay and don't reply.

In India, report at cybercrime.gov.in. It has a section for crimes against women and children. You can report child abuse images without giving your name. If a child is in danger now, call 112. Childline 1098 is a free helpline for children.

In the US, NCMEC's Take It Down helps remove nude images of people under 18. The image stays on your device. Only a digital fingerprint of it is shared. Adults can use StopNCII.org. Other countries have their own police and helplines.

In 2024, Human Rights Watch checked a big public image set used to train AI. It found photos of real children from Brazil and Australia. An AI model can't simply forget what it learned.

Before you post, leave out the school name, uniform and home location. Before you try a "cartoon me" app, check what it does with photos. Deleting the app does not delete what it uploaded.