Identifying details
Full name, phone number, student ID, or other details that identify you.
AI LITERACY · SAFETY GUIDE
AI Safety for Kids: Privacy, Bias, and Responsible Use
AI can be a powerful tool for learning and creativity. This guide helps kids understand how to use AI safely, think critically about what it says, and make good choices.
PROTECT QUESTION REPORT
A SIMPLE WAY TO REMEMBER
Five principles of AI safety
Keep these five ideas in mind whenever you use an AI tool.
KEEP IT PRIVATE
What should stay private?
Many learning tasks can be completed without identifying or confidential information.
Precise location
Home or school address, daily schedule, or real-time location.
Private messages
Personal conversations, medical information, family problems, or confidential school records.
Other people’s information
Someone else’s photo, voice, writing, or identifying information without permission.
Identifying documents
Files that include names, contact details, account information, or school records.
Treat passwords, authentication codes, payment information, and account recovery details as private. Do not upload someone else’s material without permission.
PAUSE BEFORE YOU TRUST OR SHARE
AI can be wrong, unfair, or made to look real.
A polished answer or realistic image can still be misleading. Take a moment to think.
Children may encounter AI in chatbots, search tools, games, social platforms, classroom software, image and video tools, and voice-enabled devices. Safety depends on understanding what information is shared, how an output might affect another person, and what to do when a result is wrong or disturbing. Rules should fit the child, the specific tool, and the setting.
AI-generated text, images, audio, and recommendations can be wrong, incomplete, biased, or misleading. Review them before trusting or sharing them. Do not use AI to impersonate, embarrass, harass, expose, or manipulate another person, and ask before using someone’s image, voice, or personal story.
Bias and unfair assumptions
AI can reflect unfair patterns or make assumptions about someone’s ability, background, language, interests, appearance, or behavior.
- Does this seem fair and respectful? Could it be a stereotype?
- Who is represented, and who is missing? Does the answer treat a group as if everyone were the same?
- What evidence supports this? Could the wording affect someone’s opportunity, reputation, or safety?
- Would the same rule seem fair if the people involved were different?
Deepfakes and manipulated media
AI can create realistic images, video, or audio that make a person seem to say or do something that never happened.
- Could this be fake or edited?
- Is the source trustworthy?
- Should I check with an adult before sharing?
Before you share a surprising claim or clip:Check where it came from.Look for independent reporting.Ask for help if a real person may be at risk.
Do not create or share realistic fake media to deceive, embarrass, threaten, or damage someone’s reputation. A joke or label does not remove possible harm if viewers believe it is real. If media involves harassment, threats, sexual content, or a person who may be at risk, do not pass it along; tell a trusted adult.
LEARN WITH INTEGRITY
Schoolwork, copyright & honesty
AI assistance does not remove the need to respect other people’s work or follow assignment rules.
Follow the rules
Check the teacher’s instructions about AI assistance, attribution, and independent work for each assignment or project.
Give credit
Keep track of meaningful AI help and disclose it when your teacher or project requires it. Do not present generated work as your own if the rules prohibit that.
Ask when unclear
Creating, transforming, copying, and imitating can raise different questions. Ask before using private or copyrighted material when permission is not clear.
Rules may differ by assignment, platform, and type of content. Check that images, quotations, music, and other sources can be used appropriately.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT ALONE
When should a child ask an adult?
Adult guidance is a normal part of safe and age-appropriate use.
Private information
A tool asks for a password, location, photo, voice recording, school document, or information about another person.
Disturbing output
It creates sexual, violent, hateful, threatening, or frightening material, especially involving a real or identifiable person.
High-stakes advice
The question involves health, safety, legal matters, money, self-harm, or an immediate risk.
Unclear responsibility
You are unsure whether AI is allowed, whether something belongs to someone else, or how to report a harmful result.
If someone may be in immediate danger, tell a trusted adult or contact local emergency help right away.
GUIDANCE THAT GROWS WITH YOU
AI safety by age
These are practical guidance bands, not strict developmental rules. Follow the tool’s terms and your family or school expectations.
Elementary years
Use AI with adult guidance, keep personal information private, ask before uploading, and tell an adult when content feels unsafe.
Middle school
Review privacy settings and school rules, question output, recognize impersonation and manipulation, and report problems.
Teen years
Evaluate data practices, bias, intellectual property, disclosure, and the social effects of creating or sharing AI-generated content.
START A CONVERSATION
Questions families and teachers can ask
Use these prompts to talk through new tools and situations together.
What information did the tool receive, and did it need all of it?
Could this output be wrong, biased, or misleading?
Could another person be harmed, embarrassed, or misrepresented?
Who owns the image, words, voice, or other material being used?
What should you do if the tool or another person asks for something unsafe?
PRACTICE YOUR JUDGMENT
Try the safety check
Read each situation and choose what you would do. Real situations can depend on context.
An AI tool asks for your school name and home address to create a plan.
SAFECHECKASK AN ADULT
An AI message makes an unfair claim about a group of people.
SAFECHECKASK AN ADULT
You want to use an AI-generated image in a school project.
SAFECHECKASK AN ADULT
These prompts are for practicing judgment. More than one response may make sense depending on the tool, assignment, and situation.
KEEP LEARNING
Learn more and keep practicing
Explore related guides and tools at your own pace.
AI Literacy & Responsible UseLearn how AI works, where it can fail, and how to question its output.Read the guide →
AI 101 for KidsA beginner’s guide to what AI can and cannot do.Explore AI 101 →
Practice thinking out loud with VoxStarTry debate, speaking, and discussion topics about AI and more.Explore practice →
FOR KIDS, FAMILIES & EDUCATORS
Frequently asked questions
Short answers for common questions about children and AI.
What are the basic AI safety rules for kids?
Kids should protect personal information, use approved tools, check AI output, avoid harmful or deceptive uses, respect other people’s rights, and ask a trusted adult when something feels unsafe or unclear.
Why is privacy important when kids use AI?
AI tools may collect, process, or retain information depending on the service. Children should avoid sharing passwords, precise locations, private messages, school records, or other sensitive information. When a task can be done without identifying details, leave those details out.
Can I use AI for schoolwork?
That depends on the assignment and the teacher’s rules. Students should follow instructions about AI assistance, attribution, and independent work, and ask when they are unsure. AI can support learning, but it should not be presented as independent work when assistance is prohibited or must be disclosed.
What is the minimum age for using AI?
There is no single age limit that applies to every AI service. Check the specific tool’s terms and follow school and family rules. A service may set its own minimum age or require parent or guardian involvement.
Can AI be biased or unfair?
Yes. AI may reflect unfair patterns in its training data or make inaccurate assumptions about people. Check whether an answer is supported, respectful, and fair, and look for whose perspectives may be missing.
What should kids do if AI creates something disturbing or unsafe?
They should stop using the tool, avoid sharing the material, save only what is needed to report it, and tell a trusted adult, teacher, parent, or platform moderator.
How can parents help kids use AI safely?
Talk about which tools are allowed, what information should stay private, when AI use needs to be disclosed, and how to report something upsetting. Revisit those expectations as the child’s tools and independence change.
REMEMBER
Protect · Question · Report
Be curious. Be critical. Be kind. And when in doubt, ask a trusted adult.
Editorial note: This educational overview is intended for families and educators. It is not a substitute for professional, legal, medical, or emergency guidance.