What's New Online
The online risks kids face are changing fast. Here's what's new, in plain language, with steps you can take at home tonight.
Updated every three months. Last updated: October 25, 2026.
AI "companion" and chatbot apps
What it is
Apps and features that let kids chat with an AI "friend," character, or helper. They're available inside apps kids already use, as well as standalone apps. The AI is always available, always agreeable, and can feel like a real relationship.
Why it matters
- Some chatbots have had inappropriate conversations with minors or given harmful advice on serious topics.
- Kids may share private information or feelings with an AI instead of with people who can help.
- In September 2025 the FTC opened an inquiry into how major AI companies protect children from companion chatbots. In late 2025, Character.AI ended open-ended chats for users under 18.
What you can do
- Ask which AI apps or chat features your child uses. Many are built into apps they already have.
- Use app store age ratings and Ask to Buy / app approval so new apps need your OK.
- Where an app offers it, turn off its AI chat for your child (Snapchat's Family Center lets parents turn off My AI).
- Teach: an AI is not a friend or a counselor. It can be wrong, and what you type may be stored.
Try saying: "AI can be fun for homework, but it's not a person. If it ever says something weird or asks personal questions, show me. And if you're upset about something, talk to me or another grown-up, not a chatbot."
Deepfakes and AI "nudify" apps
What it is
AI tools can make fake photos and videos that look real, including fake nude images made from ordinary photos. Students have used these apps to target classmates.
Why it matters
- A fake image causes real harm: embarrassment, bullying, and threats (sextortion).
- Creating or sharing sexual images of a minor is a crime, even when the image is AI-made.
- Any public photo, even a school or sports picture, can be misused.
What you can do
- Keep kids' accounts private and limit public photos of them, including your own posts.
- Tell your child: if it happens to them or a friend, they are not in trouble, and you will help.
- If it happens: don't forward or save the image. Screenshot the account and messages, report it in the app, and report to the NCMEC CyberTipline.
- Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) can help remove images of someone taken before age 18, including AI-made ones, without uploading the image.
Try saying: "People can make fake pictures of anyone now. If anyone ever shows you, sends you, or makes a fake picture of you or a friend, tell me. You won't be in trouble."
Voice cloning scams
What it is
Scammers can copy a person's voice from a short video clip, then call a relative pretending to be a child or grandchild in trouble: an accident, an arrest, a kidnapping.
Why it matters
- The voice can sound exactly right. The pressure to act fast is the trick.
- Calls usually demand money by gift card, wire, crypto, or a payment app, and ask you to keep it secret.
What you can do
- Pick a family code word that's never posted online. Anyone claiming an emergency must say it.
- Hang up and call the person back on a number you already have.
- Share this with grandparents. They're the most common target.
- Report scams at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Older adults and families can call the free AARP Fraud Watch Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Try saying: "Let's pick a secret family word. If anyone ever calls saying you're in trouble, Grandma will ask for the word."
Gaming chats and in-game gifts
What it is
Games like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft include chat with other players. Platforms such as Discord connect gamers outside the game.
Why it matters
- Adults sometimes pose as kids. A common pattern is compliments, gifts of game currency or skins, then a request to move to a private app and keep it secret.
- "Free Robux" and similar offers are almost always account-stealing scams.
- Platforms are adding age checks (Roblox now requires one for chat), but no setting replaces a parent who knows who their child plays with.
What you can do
- Turn on each game's parental controls. Our App Safety Guide has steps for Roblox, Minecraft, Discord, and more.
- Limit chat to friends your child knows in real life, and set spending limits.
- Keep gaming in shared rooms, especially with headsets.
- Ask about online friends the same way you'd ask about school friends.
Try saying: "If anyone in a game gives you free stuff, asks you to keep a secret, or wants to talk on a different app, that's a warning sign. Come get me. You won't lose the game."
Social media pressure
What it is
Pressure to post, get likes, keep streaks, join viral challenges, or send photos, plus constant comparison with others.
Why it matters
- Late-night use cuts into sleep, and comparison can affect mood and self-image.
- Some viral challenges are dangerous, and group chats can turn cruel quickly.
- Pressure to send private photos is a common starting point for threats and sextortion.
What you can do
- Phones charge outside the bedroom overnight.
- Use built-in teen protections. Instagram Teen Accounts and TikTok's default limits apply to teens automatically, so make sure your child's real birthday is on the account.
- Talk about what they see, without judgment. Ask what makes them feel good or bad online.
- Watch for withdrawal, sleep changes, or hopelessness. If you're worried, call or text 988.
Try saying: "Nobody's life looks like their posts. If anything online ever makes you feel bad about yourself, or someone pressures you to send something, you can always tell me."
If something has already happened
- Child in danger: 911
- Online exploitation or threats over private images: NCMEC CyberTipline, report.cybertip.org, 1-800-843-5678
- Emotional crisis: call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741
- Lake County, Montana non-emergency dispatch: (406) 883-7301
Full list of who to contact: Grown-Up Toolkit. Printable guides: Safety Handouts.