Is Snapchat's My AI safe for kids?
Snapchat, including its My AI chatbot, is for users aged 13 and over, so it isn't suitable for younger children. For teens, My AI has safeguards and some age awareness, but it is a general chatbot inside a social app. Parents of 13 to 17-year-olds can use Family Center to stop My AI responding to their teen.
Snapchat's My AI is a chatbot built into the Snapchat app, and it follows Snapchat's age rules. Snap's Terms of Service say the service is not for children under 13, or under the higher minimum age where local law sets one. So for a primary-school child, My AI isn't safe because Snapchat itself isn't meant for them. For teens, it is a mixed picture.
What My AI does
My AI sits in the chat list alongside a teen's friends. It answers questions, suggests ideas, and holds conversations in the same place teens message real people. That closeness is the main concern: a chatbot that lives next to your friends can start to feel like one of them.
What regulators and researchers found
- UK regulator. The Information Commissioner's Office issued a preliminary enforcement notice in October 2023, saying Snap had not adequately assessed the privacy risks of My AI, particularly for children. In May 2024 the ICO concluded its investigation after Snap produced a revised risk assessment it judged compliant.
- Early testing. A University of Cambridge study on the "empathy gap" in chatbots cites a case where My AI gave researchers posing as a 13-year-old advice about a relationship with a 31-year-old.
- US inquiry. Snap was one of seven companies the FTC asked in September 2025 to explain how their chatbots affect children and teens.
Snap has added safeguards since launch, including age awareness and temporary restrictions for users who repeatedly misuse My AI. Those are real improvements, but no filter is perfect.
How to restrict My AI for your teen
Snap's Family Center is for parents of 13 to 17-year-olds.
- Download Snapchat and create your own account.
- Open Family Center from your profile and invite your teen. They must accept.
- In Family Center, find the My AI setting and restrict it.
Once restricted, My AI replies to your teen only with a note that it has been disabled. Family Center also shows your teen's friend list and key privacy settings, but not the content of their messages.
What to talk about with your teen
- My AI is not a friend. It is a product designed to keep people chatting. Real problems go to real people.
- What you share is stored. Treat anything typed into My AI as something Snap keeps. See what kids should never tell an AI.
- Check facts. Chatbots can sound sure and still be wrong.
- Tell me if it gets weird. Promise that reporting something strange won't automatically cost them the app.
For younger children who want to chat with AI
If your under-13 is drawn to My AI because friends use it, offer an alternative built for their age. Askie is a voice-first AI companion for ages 4-15 with no advertising, age-adapted answers, and conversation transcripts parents can review. Our Askie vs Snapchat My AI page compares the two, and parental controls for AI apps explains what to look for in any app.
A safe AI your child can talk to
Askie is a voice-first AI companion built for children, with answers adapted to your child's age and parental controls you set.