What You Need to Know

A new wave of AI apps are targeting teenagers and children, commonly called AI Companions or chatbots. While these apps promise constant companionship and personalized advice, experts warn of the hidden dangers. Because these chatbots are designed to mimic highly empathetic human relationships, children quickly drop their guard, sharing deeply personal information, daily schedules, and family details that are stored permanently on external servers.

As you might be piecing together, AI is making it easier and easier for the bad guys to make fake apps look real, and most kids won’t know the difference until it’s too late. Here’s what you should do to keep your kids safe:

What You Should Do

Block unregulated companion apps: Check your child’s device for standalone conversational AI or third-party friend bots, and restrict downloads to age-appropriate, strictly moderated educational tools.
Use parental controls: Ensure any AI interaction occurs inside parental-control-locked apps that do not sell user data or allow unrestricted, open-ended conversational prompts.
Never use personal information: Teach your children that they must never type personally identifiable information (PII)—such as their school name, location, or family financial details—into an AI text box.
Check safety settings: Use built-in parental dashboards to restrict access to multimodal features, preventing apps from recording your child’s voice or scanning photos of your home interior.
Remember that AI isn’t a real person: Remind your kids that an AI companion does not actually know them or care about them; it is simply a predictive algorithm designed to guess the next word in a sentence.

Not sure you’re doing enough to protect your child against digital dangers?
Call our cyber parenting hotline or email us for help:
801-692-6200
cyberparentinghelp@invisus.com