Handle with care
Risks worth knowing, explained calmly.
- WhatsApp parental controls are here. Meta AI is the gap
WhatsApp's new parent-managed accounts switch Meta AI off for under 13s. Once a child moves to an ordinary account, that AI supervision vanishes.
- Discord's age check, and the ID your teen uploads
Discord is rolling out age checks worldwide. The risky part is not the face scan, it is the appeal form where a teen uploads a real ID.
- Roblox checks your child's face now. What it can't see
Roblox now uses a face scan to sort players by age before they can chat. What the check does, where it slips, and what it leaves to parents.
- Where to report an AI fake of your child in Singapore
Singapore's Online Safety Commission opened in June 2026. What it can take down when an AI-made image of your child spreads, and what it cannot.
- Singapore's app store age checks, and the AI they miss
Singapore's app stores now check ages before under-18s download adult apps. Here is what that gate catches, what it does not, and what parents can do.
- Training AI on children's data now needs its own consent
A US rule that took full effect in April 2026 means firms must ask separately before training AI on children's data. What it changes for parents.
- Why young children believe AI before they can question it
The loudest worry about kids and AI is teenagers and homework, but the youngest children trust the machine most and question it least.
- Are AI toys safe? The trouble with talking teddy bears
An AI teddy bear drifted into explicit talk, and another toy exposed 50,000 children's chats. What parents should know about AI toys before buying one.
- When an AI companion is hard to quit, teens notice first
Most teens use AI companions for fun and creativity, not romance. The ones who get stuck are often the first to say so, if we listen.
- AI deepfake nudes in schools are a peer problem, not stranger danger
AI nudify apps have made deepfake abuse a classmate problem in schools, and most parent safety talks aim at the wrong threat. What actually helps.
- Kids can't switch off Google's AI answers, and that's the risk
A July 2026 safety review found Google's AI search answers pose an unacceptable risk to kids, and parents can't turn them off. What to actually do.
- When teens ask a chatbot for mental health advice
A fifth of young people now ask AI chatbots for mental health advice, and most tell no one. The worry is less the advice than the secrecy.
- Cognitive debt: what AI could be doing to kids' thinking
The loudest worry about kids and AI is cheating. The quieter, better-evidenced one is cognitive debt: what a young brain loses skipping the hard part.
- AI chatbot bans for kids: what the 2026 laws actually do
In 2026 a wave of state and federal laws set out to restrict AI companion chatbots for minors. Here is what they cover, and what they leave to parents.
