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Freedom251 › Blog › AI Privacy

How to Protect Children’s Privacy When They Use AI Apps

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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The safest approach is data minimisation: choose an app with child-appropriate, high-privacy defaults; turn off optional location, contacts, camera, microphone, personalisation and public sharing; prevent your child from entering direct identifiers; check retention and model-training terms; and use the consent, access and deletion controls available in your country. Treat every prompt, photo and recording as information that could be stored, inferred or shared.

Why an AI app can know more than your child types

A chatbot may receive much more than the words in a prompt. Depending on its features and permissions, it can collect uploaded photographs, face images, voice recordings, microphone audio, device details, contacts, approximate or precise location, account identifiers and usage patterns. The service may also infer interests, relationships, routines, abilities or emotional states from conversations and content.

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That creates a different privacy risk from an ordinary search box. A child might type a school name, upload a class photograph or ask for help with a medical problem without realising that the information can be retained, reviewed by people or vendors, used to improve a model, combined with other account data or reproduced in a later response. A deleted chat may not remove copies already sent to service providers or other recipients.

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Privacy is one part of child-centred AI, alongside safety, fairness, transparency, explainability, accountability, inclusion and support for healthy development. UNICEF’s Guidance on AI and Children, Version 3.0 explicitly lists protecting children’s data and privacy as a core requirement and discusses newer risks involving generative AI, AI companions, harmful datasets and AI-generated child sexual-abuse material.

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Start with a privacy-first setup

Use the highest-privacy defaults available

Before a child creates an account, inspect the service’s privacy and safety controls. Prefer a provider that explains data practices in language a child can understand, offers meaningful parent controls and starts with high-privacy settings. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Children’s Code says settings should be “high privacy” by default unless there is a compelling reason otherwise.

  • Disable optional personalisation, targeted advertising and public posting.
  • Turn off contact discovery, social-graph matching and automatic sharing.
  • Set the shortest available retention period, or choose a mode that does not save conversations when the feature allows it.
  • Prevent the service from using chats, images or recordings to improve models when an opt-out is offered.
  • Use a private account rather than a public profile, and do not connect unrelated social accounts.

Do not assume a setting remains unchanged. Recheck after an app update, a new model release, an account-plan change or a change in the child’s age and needs.

Give only the permissions a feature needs

In the phone, tablet or browser permission controls, deny location, contacts, camera and microphone access unless the child is using a feature that genuinely requires it at that moment. A drawing tool may need a photo picker but not continuous location. A voice conversation may need the microphone but not contacts. COPPA treats geolocation information as personal information even when an operator says it does not use the location for anything else.

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Prefer “ask every time” or one-time access where the operating system offers it. After a voice or image feature is finished, remove the permission and confirm how temporary recordings or uploads are deleted. A permission switch protects future collection; it does not erase data already submitted.

What children should never put into an AI prompt

Teach a simple rule: if a detail could identify the child, another person or the child’s routine, leave it out unless a trusted adult has confirmed that the specific function requires it. Do not enter or upload:

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  • Full name, home address, personal email address or phone number.
  • School name, classroom, teacher, team, timetable, uniform badge or regular route.
  • Passwords, passcodes, recovery questions, identity-document numbers or financial details.
  • Precise location, live travel plans, photographs of a house exterior or a familiar landmark.
  • Medical records, diagnoses, medication details, counselling conversations or other sensitive health information.
  • Face images, voice recordings or photographs that identify classmates, relatives or strangers without their permission.
  • Private messages, school records, legal documents or another person’s personal information.

When an answer does not require identity, substitute a fictional name and general description: “a student in year eight” is safer than a school name and class; “a town in northern England” is safer than a street address. Remove faces, badges, labels and metadata from an image before uploading it, or use a made-up illustration instead.

Check how the service stores and uses data

Read the current privacy notice, children’s terms and account controls before use. Look specifically for separate treatment of prompts, uploaded images, voice, location and device information. Ask these questions:

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  • Are chats, files and recordings stored? For how long, and is the period renewable?
  • Can employees, contractors or safety reviewers see the content?
  • Is data shared with hosting, analytics, advertising or other vendors?
  • Is content used to train, evaluate or personalise models, and can a parent opt out?
  • Can a parent view, correct, export and delete the child’s information?
  • Does deleting an account also delete backups, derived profiles and shared copies, and when?

Choose the shortest retention period that supports the feature. Delete old conversations and unused files, then use the provider’s formal account-data deletion process rather than merely hiding a chat from the screen. The FTC says children’s information covered by its rules should be retained only as long as necessary and then securely deleted.

Parental consent and legal protections

United States: COPPA

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over information collected from children. It generally applies to child-directed websites and apps, and to general-audience services that have actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from children under 13.

For covered collection, an operator generally must obtain verifiable parental consent, give parents access to the information, honour deletion requests, use reasonable security and avoid collecting more information than is reasonably necessary. A simple age gate does not by itself make an app safe. The FTC explains that a child-directed service generally must treat visitors as children unless specific conditions establish otherwise.

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Check whether the service explains its consent method, what information it collects and how a parent can review or delete it. COPPA is a US law with defined scope; it does not guarantee that every AI app used by a teenager or family outside the United States follows the same rules.

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United Kingdom: the Children’s Code

The ICO Children’s Code applies to online services likely to be accessed by children in the UK. It says the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration and sets 15 flexible standards. Its central expectations are high-privacy defaults, collection and retention of only the minimum personal data, limited sharing of children’s data and geolocation switched off by default.

The code is not a substitute for reading an app’s settings. A service may need to change its design to meet the code, while the particular account you create can still expose more information through optional features. Check the provider’s explanation of its age assurance, privacy controls and children’s-data practices.

Other countries and cross-border use

Privacy rights differ by country, age and service. A family travelling abroad may still have an account governed by the provider’s home-country terms, while local rules can also apply. Look for the rights available where the child lives: access, correction, deletion, objection, restriction and consent withdrawal may have different thresholds and procedures. If the provider cannot explain which rules apply, do not upload sensitive information.

A practical parent-and-child setup procedure

  1. Identify the purpose. Write down the exact task: homework explanation, translation, coding practice or a voice feature. If the task does not need identity, camera, microphone or location, do not enable them.
  2. Check age suitability. Read the minimum-age rule, child-directed status, age-assurance method and parent-consent process. Do not bypass an age restriction by entering a false birth date.
  3. Review the privacy notice. Record what is collected, why it is collected, retention periods, model-use choices, third-party sharing and deletion instructions.
  4. Create the least revealing account. Use a parent-managed address where appropriate, avoid a real-name public profile and do not connect contacts or social accounts unless essential.
  5. Change defaults before the first prompt. Turn off history, training, personalisation, public sharing, contact discovery and advertising options when available. Set the shortest retention option.
  6. Set device permissions. Deny location, contacts, camera and microphone by default. Grant one-time or while-using access only for the immediate feature, then revoke it.
  7. Run a safe test. Use a fictional prompt and a non-identifying image. Check whether the app displays a warning, stores the interaction, creates a public link or adds the content to history.
  8. Show the child the stop button. Demonstrate how to end a voice session, remove an upload, report a problem, delete a conversation and contact a parent.
  9. Document the controls. Save the provider’s deletion and parent-request address, the date settings were checked and any consent confirmation. Do not save a copy of sensitive child data just to document it.

How to compare two AI apps

Do not choose solely by answer quality or a colourful child-facing design. Compare the same questions for each service:

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Question What to look for Warning sign
Age suitability and assurance Clear minimum age, child-readable explanation and an appropriate parent-consent process An age screen that is the only protection
Default privacy History, sharing, personalisation and advertising off unless needed Public profiles or broad sharing enabled at sign-up
Data collected Separate descriptions for prompts, images, voice, contacts, location and device data Vague “information we collect” wording with no feature-level detail
Model use A clear training/evaluation opt-out and explanation of human review Unclear or compulsory use of children’s content for improvement
Retention and deletion Specific periods, in-app deletion and a complete account-erasure route Deleting a chat only hides it from the interface
Parent rights Verifiable consent, access, correction and deletion instructions No named process for a parent request
Third parties and security Identified vendors, limited sharing and a transparent incident process Indefinite sharing or unexplained security practices
Child explanations Plain-language notices, warnings and reporting tools Long legal text with no child-facing summary
Regulatory alignment Evidence of controls addressing COPPA or the UK Children’s Code where relevant Marketing claims with no usable settings or rights process
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Teach a “stop, strip, check” habit

Rules work better when children can apply them without asking for permission every time. Teach three steps:

  1. Stop: pause before sending a prompt, photo or recording. Ask whether it identifies anyone or reveals a routine.
  2. Strip: remove names, addresses, school details, faces, metadata, passwords and unnecessary medical or emotional details. Replace them with fictional or broad descriptions.
  3. Check: ask whether the feature truly needs the remaining information, who may see it, how long it may stay and how to delete it.

Explain that an AI system can remember, infer or reproduce information. It may combine harmless details into an identifying profile, and an answer can expose something the child did not intend to reveal. Children should tell a trusted adult immediately if an app requests a password, intimate image, precise location, secret conversation or another person’s private data.

Special risks from photos, voice and location

Photos and face images

A photograph can reveal faces, uniforms, school logos, house numbers, geotags and relationships. Crop or blur identifying details, use a generated or stock image, and obtain permission before uploading someone else’s likeness. A face image is personal data even when the child adds no caption.

Voice recordings

Voice can identify a speaker and reveal background conversations, names or routines. Use push-to-talk or temporary input when available, confirm whether recordings are retained and reviewed, and end the session when finished. Revoking microphone access does not delete recordings already uploaded.

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Location and sensors

Precise location is rarely necessary for homework or creative tasks. Keep location services off, and check whether the app can infer location from a photograph, network information or a landmark. Disable contacts, camera and microphone together when no sensor-based feature is in use.

When a child has already overshared

  1. Stop further collection. End the session, revoke unnecessary permissions and do not send more messages to “correct” the first one.
  2. Preserve only what is needed. Note the account, date, feature and categories of information exposed. Avoid forwarding the sensitive content.
  3. Delete locally and remotely. Remove chats, files and public links, then submit the provider’s account-data deletion request. Ask specifically about backups, derived profiles, human-review copies and third-party sharing.
  4. Protect exposed credentials. Change any password or passcode that was entered, enable multifactor authentication and sign out other sessions.
  5. Address safety concerns. If the information could enable stalking, fraud, blackmail or abuse, contact the relevant platform, school safeguarding lead, law-enforcement service or child-protection organisation promptly.
  6. Review the lesson, not just the mistake. Update permissions and the family rule that allowed the disclosure; do not shame the child, which can make future reporting less likely.

Schools and family technology policies

Schools can reinforce the same practices by specifying which AI tools are approved, what information may be entered, when a teacher must supervise an upload and how students report a privacy problem. A classroom policy should prohibit sharing classmates’ names, images, work, medical information and recordings unless the school has a documented, lawful need and appropriate consent.

The UK Department for Education page updated 14 October 2026 links posters, a checklist and videos titled “Protect children’s privacy when using AI.” Schools and parent groups can use these materials to align classroom guidance with home settings. Families elsewhere can still adopt the same plain-language checklist while checking their own jurisdiction’s rules.

Make privacy a recurring check

Schedule a review after every major app update, model change, new device, account-plan change or new feature such as voice, image generation or an AI companion. Recheck the child’s age, independence and sensitivity of the tasks they perform. Ask the provider for access, correction or deletion where the applicable law provides those rights, and keep the provider’s current privacy notice rather than relying on an old screenshot.

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The strongest protection is not a single toggle. It is a combination of minimal prompts, unnecessary permissions disabled, short retention, informed parental consent, understandable explanations and a child who knows to stop before sharing. Those controls reduce what an AI service can collect while preserving the useful features a child actually needs.

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AI Privacychildren's online safetyCOPPAData Protectionparental controlsUK Children’s Code

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