Character.AI launches parental supervision feature
Character.AI, a leading chatbot platform facing lawsuits related to youth safety issues, introduced a new supervision tool designed to give parents a peek into how their children are using the product.
The "parental insights" feature is meant for caregivers whose children are younger than 18. The tool is accessible via the child's account preferences. From there, the user must add the adult's email address and then invite them to receive a weekly activity report compiled by Character.AI.
The report includes daily average time spent on the platform, on both mobile and the web; a list of top characters that the teen engages with frequently; and the time spent with each character. The report doesn't include a transcript of the user's chat with their companions.
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If the teen decides to revoke their parents' access to this data, they can do so through their account but that request must be confirmed by the adult.
Character.AI described the feature as a "first step" toward providing parents with information about their child's activity on the platform. In recent months, the company has implemented a number of new safety efforts, including a separate model for teens, as well as disclosures that characters are not real people.
The changes come in the wake of two lawsuits against Character.AI, alleging that the product uniquely harmed children who engaged with it.
In October, bereaved mother Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit after her son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide following intense communications with a character on the platform. In December, two mothers in Texas filed another lawsuit against Character.AI alleging that the company knowingly exposed their children to harmful and sexualized content.
The company said in its announcement about the parental insights feature that it would keep refining the tool: "We will continue to listen to teens, their parents, and leading teen safety organizations as we evolve our parental insights tool to most effectively meet our community’s needs."
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
