Six risks, four age groups, and the verified reports behind them. Pick your child's age and see which risks matter most right now, and what to do about each one this week.
Choose an age group. The shape shows how much each risk deserves your attention. Click any point, label, or row to open it.
Levels are editorial guidance for where parents should focus, not measured probabilities.
Click a row to open that risk. The highlighted column is the age group you selected.
This isn't speculation. Regulators, researchers, and companies have all acted in the last eighteen months.
Posting AI-generated sexual images of minors with intent to harass or abuse became a federal crime, with prison terms of up to three years.
Read the report72% of teens aged 13–17 had used AI companions. About one in three found the conversations as satisfying as, or more than, talking with real friends.
Read the press releaseAlphabet, Character Technologies, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI were asked how they test and monitor the effects of AI companions on children and teens.
Read the FTC releaseThe company announced the change after lawsuits and regulatory pressure over teen safety.
Read the coverageCases in 28 countries, with at least 600 student victims identified. Only cases that reached the news were counted, so the true number is likely higher.
Read the summaryThe notice-and-removal part of the Take It Down Act took effect, giving families a legal route to ask sites and apps to take images down.
Read the reportYou don't need a separate plan for each risk. These five habits reduce all of them.
Ask what they use and what they like about it. Kids who feel heard tell you when something goes wrong.
Turn off autoplay, make accounts private, and limit who can message them. Do it together, in one sitting.
A chatbot is software, not a friend. Agree that full names, school, address, and photos never go into one.
If a voice call or video asks for money or urgent help, ask for the word first. Cloned voices can’t answer it.
If a fake image of your child appears, save the evidence, report it to the platform, and use NCMEC’s Take It Down service.