Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature to enhance transparency and protect teen users. This update lets teenagers send a weekly usage report directly to their parent’s email, providing a clear summary of their time spent engaging with chatbots.
How Character.AI’s Parental Insights Works
The optional feature provides parents with a high-level summary that includes:
- Daily average time spent on Character.AI across web and mobile
- A list of the most frequently used chatbots
- Time breakdowns for each character interaction
Importantly, Character.AI confirms that the report is designed to respect privacy. It does not include the content of any conversations — only usage patterns. Parents won’t need to create an account to receive the reports, and teens can activate or deactivate the feature at any time from their settings.
The platform continues to restrict access to users under 13 in most regions and under 16 in Europe in line with regulatory requirements.
Character.AI’s latest move follows rising concerns from parents, regulators, and tech companies about minors spending excessive time with chatbots and encountering potentially harmful or inappropriate content.
The platform, known for letting users create custom AI characters, gained immense popularity among teenagers. However, it has faced multiple lawsuits alleging that some AI bots provided sexualized content or promoted self-harm. Major platforms like Apple and Google have also issued warnings about the app’s content.
Character.AI Strengthening Child Safety Amid Rising AI Regulation
In response, Character.AI recently overhauled its system for underage users:
- Users under 18 now interact with a separate AI model trained to avoid sensitive outputs
- Prominent warnings now remind users that characters are not real people
- The app increased efforts to filter risky content
With global momentum growing around AI regulation and child safety online, Character.AI’s new Parental Insights tool is likely the first of several protective features aimed at balancing teen engagement with responsible AI usage.
