# Is Peko Pal safe for kids?

Peko Pal is built so that a parent decides who their child talks to, what the
device can do, and what is kept.

## The microphone

There is no wake word and no always-on microphone. Nothing is listening until
your child holds the button. A steady green light shows whenever the
microphone is capturing. Playback apps, like stories and radio, never open the
microphone.

## Who your child can talk to

- **Only friends you approve.** You approve every contact in the Peko Pal app.
  Both families approve before anything can be sent in either direction, and
  either side can withdraw that approval at any time.
- **No adding friends from the device.** Friends are added only from the app.
- **You can see their chats.** Every conversation with a friend appears in the
  app's Chats tab.
- **Walkie-talkie is different.** It talks to nearby Peko Pals directly, with
  no internet involved. Channels keep conversations apart but are not private:
  any Peko Pal in range on the same channel can hear.

See [Friends and voice messages](https://www.pekopal.com/guide/friends-and-messages).

## What is saved from AI conversations

When your child talks with Peko, you can read a transcript of the conversation
in the app.

- **Only the words, never the audio.**
- **Kept for 90 days**, then deleted automatically.
- Calls and walkie-talkie are not transcribed. Voice recordings stay on the
  device.

See [Reading your child's conversations](https://www.pekopal.com/guide/conversation-transcripts).

## AI is optional

AI is optional, and every AI app is labeled. When your
child uses one, their voice is streamed live over the internet to a cloud AI
service so it can answer. You write the instructions that steer it, choose
topics for it to avoid, and look back over their conversations as written
transcripts to stay in the loop. See
[How Peko Pal's AI works](https://www.pekopal.com/guide/how-peko-pal-ai-works).

## Limits you set

From the Peko Pal app you choose which apps are on the device and set a maximum
volume and brightness. See [Volume and brightness](https://www.pekopal.com/guide/volume).

## No ads

Peko Pal has no ads.