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The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why the settings come before the first conversation
Companion devices and their apps are usually configured for engagement by default: continuous listening for a wake word, transcripts kept so the device 'remembers', and a personality designed to keep the conversation going. Each of those is often adjustable, and adjusting them after a month of use means a month of recordings already exists somewhere.
There is also the room the device sits in. A microphone in a child's bedroom captures siblings, parents, and visitors, and in some places recording other people without notice carries legal consequences. Setup is also the natural moment to agree a household rule out loud — what the device is for, what it should not be asked, and what gets told to a parent.
The protocol
- Find the microphone behavior: is it always listening for a wake word, does it record continuously, and is there a physical mute or shutter? Choose the most restrictive option the device offers.
- Look for retention and memory: are transcripts kept, for how long, can you delete them, and is there a memory feature that builds a profile of your child? Turn off what you do not need.
- Read the account requirements and the age statement. Many services set a minimum age, and a device marketed for young children may still route through a general-purpose model with a different age policy.
- Check the training setting — whether conversations improve or train models — and opt out if that option exists.
- Ask what the device can be prompted to do: can it browse, make purchases, place calls, or open other apps? Restrict or disable anything you would not hand to a child unsupervised.
- Agree one household rule out loud before the first use: what it is for, what gets told to a parent, and where it lives — a shared room is the simpler choice for younger children.
- Re-check after every firmware or app update, and write down what you changed and when.
What the tool does
A school-facing question sheet with a record of answers. The tool stores nothing and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a practical preparation aid, not legal, financial, or emergency advice. It cannot verify facts, contact anyone, or guarantee a result. Procedures vary by provider and jurisdiction.
Open the companion tool →One human next step
Avoid entering a child's identifying or sensitive information into a tool while its data practices are unclear. Keep a copy of the records and ask the relevant official, qualified person for case-specific guidance.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not applicable. The check reads the manufacturer's own documented settings and the household's own rules; an automated judgment about whether a device is safe for a specific child would be less reliable than opening the settings page and would hide its basis (§1.2 UIC-10). §6.9 disclosed: no zero-cost in-browser assist exists for reading a device's real capture behavior. §6.10: not a frontier-pace topic. §0.5a: category is protected — competence framing only, no urgency, no scarcity, and the buyer is the caregiver (§0.6b). This new dispatch is a preparation aid, not a detector or a guarantee; verify current procedures with the named official source before acting.
§0.5 protection result: category is family-teen-safety; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.