Is AI safe for kids? What parents should look for

It depends on how the AI is built and who sets the rules. Here are the questions to ask about any AI your child might use, and how Peko Pal answers each one.

1. Is it optional?

Peko Pal's AI is optional, and every AI app is labeled, so you always know which ones use it. A Peko Pal works for stories, podcasts, radio, friends and more with the AI left off.

2. When is it listening?

There should be no always-on microphone. On a Peko Pal there is no wake word: nothing is listening until your child holds the button, and a steady green light shows whenever the microphone is capturing.

3. Who sets the rules?

You should. In the Peko Pal app you write the instructions that steer the AI and choose topics for it to avoid. When your child raises one of those topics, Peko changes the subject gently.

4. Who can it reach?

Peko only contacts friends you've approved. When it looks something up, it searches with a kid-safe filter and never opens websites.

5. Can you see what happened?

You can look back over your child's conversations as written transcripts in the app. Transcripts keep only the words, never the audio, and are deleted after 90 days. See Reading your child's conversations.

6. Where does the voice go?

Say plainly where it goes. On a Peko Pal, while your child holds the button, their voice is streamed live over the internet to a cloud AI service so it can answer. It is not processed only on the device, and it doesn't work offline.

7. Are there ads?

Peko Pal has no ads.

How Peko Pal's AI works

Your child holds the button, asks, and hears the answer out loud, in short spoken replies. See How Peko Pal's AI works for everything you can control, and Is Peko Pal safe for kids? for the wider picture.