
As a parent, you want your child to surround themselves with good influences. That’s true not only for who they spend time with in real life, but also for the people and ideas they’re exposed to on social media.
If you or your child are concerned about the content appearing in their feed, one beneficial step you can take is to help them reset their social media algorithm. Here’s how to reset your child’s algorithm on TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms.
Social media algorithms are the complex computations that operate behind the scenes of every social media platform to determine what each user sees.
Everything on your child’s social media feed is likely the result of something they liked, commented on, or shared. (For a more comprehensive explanation, check out our Parent’s Guide to Social Media Algorithms.)
Social media algorithms have a snowball effect. For example, if your child “likes” a cute dog video, they’ll likely see more of that type of content. However, if they search for topics like violence, adult material, or conspiracy theories, their feed can quickly be overwhelmed with negative content.
Therefore, it’s vital that parents actively examine and reset their child’s algorithm when needed, and also teach them the skills to evaluate it for themselves.
Research clearly demonstrates the potentially negative impacts of social media on tweens and teens. How it affects your child depends a lot on what’s in their feed. And what’s in their feed has everything to do with algorithms.
Helping your child reset their algorithm is a wonderful opportunity to teach them digital literacy. Explain to them why it’s important to think critically about what they see on social media, and what they do on the site influences the content they’re shown.
Here are some steps you can take together to clean up their feed:
Resetting all of your child’s algorithms in one fell swoop can be daunting. Instead, pick the app they use the most and tackle that first.
If your kiddo follows a lot of accounts, you might need to break this step into multiple sessions. Pause on each account they follow and have them consider these questions:
If the answer “yes” to any of these questions, suggest they unfollow the account. If they’re hesitant — for example, if they’re worried unfollowing might cause friend problems — they can instead “hide” or “mute” the account so they don’t see those posts in their feed.
On the flip side, encourage your child to interact with accounts that make them feel good about themselves and portray positive messages. Liking, commenting, and sharing content that lifts them up will have a ripple effect on the rest of their feed.
After you’ve gone through their feed, show your child how to examine their settings. This mostly influences sponsored content, but considering the problematic history of advertisers marketing to children on social media, it’s wise to take a look.
Every social media app has slightly different options for how much control users have over their algorithm. Here's what you should know about resetting the algorithm on popular apps your child might use.
To get the best buy-in and help your child form positive long-term content consumption habits, it’s best to let them take the lead in deciding what accounts and content they want to see.
At the same time, kids shouldn't have to navigate the internet on their own. Social platforms can easily suggest content and profiles that your child isn't ready to see. A social media monitoring app, such as BrightCanary, can alert you if your child encounters something concerning.
Here are a few warning signs you should watch out for as you review your child's feed:
If you spot any of this content, it’s time for a longer conversation to assess your child’s safety. You may decide it’s appropriate to insist they unfollow a particular account. And if what you see on your child’s feed makes you concerned for their mental health or worried they may harm themselves or others, consider reaching out to a professional.
Algorithms are the force that drives everything your child sees on social media and can quickly cause their feed to be overtaken by negative content. Regularly reviewing your child’s feed with them and teaching them skills to control their algorithm will help keep their feed positive and minimize some of the negative impacts of social media.

Just by existing as a person in 2023, you’ve probably heard of social media algorithms. But what are algorithms? How do social media algorithms work? And why should parents care?
At BrightCanary, we’re all about giving parents the tools and information they need to take a proactive role in their children’s digital life. So, we’ve created this guide to help you understand what social media algorithms are, how they impact your child, and what you can do about it.
Social media algorithms are complex sets of rules and calculations used by platforms to prioritize the content that users see in their feeds. Each social network uses different algorithms. The algorithm on TikTok is different from the one on YouTube.
In short, algorithms dictate what you see when you use social media and in what order.
Back in the Wild Wild West days of social media, you would see all of the posts from everyone you were friends with or followed, presented in chronological order.
But as more users flocked to social media and the amount of content ballooned, platforms started introducing algorithms to filter through the piles of content and deliver relevant and interesting content to keep their users engaged. The goal is to get users hooked and keep them coming back for more.
Algorithms are also hugely beneficial for generating advertising revenue for platforms because they help target sponsored content.
Each platform uses its own mix of factors, but here are some examples of what influences social media algorithms:
Most social media sites heavily prioritize showing users content from people they’re connected with on the platform.
TikTok is unique because it emphasizes showing users new content based on their interests, which means you typically won’t see posts from people you follow on your TikTok feed.
With the exception of TikTok, if you interact frequently with a particular user, you’re more likely to see their content in your feed.
The algorithms on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Instagram Explore prioritize showing you new content based on the type of posts and videos you engage with. For example, the more cute cat videos you watch, the more cute cat videos you’ll be shown.
YouTube looks at the creators you interact with, your watch history, and the type of content you view to determine suggested videos.
The more likes, shares, and comments a post gets, the more likely it is to be shown to other users. This momentum is the snowball effect that causes posts to go viral.
There are ways social media algorithms can benefit your child, such as creating a personalized experience and helping them discover new things related to their interests. But the drawbacks are also notable — and potentially concerning.
Since social media algorithms show users more of what they seem to like, your child's feed might quickly become overwhelmed with negative content. Clicking a post out of curiosity or naivety, such as one promoting a conspiracy theory, can inadvertently expose your child to more such content. What may begin as innocent exploration could gradually influence their beliefs.
Experts frequently cite “thinspo” (short for “thinspiration”), a social media topic that aims to promote unhealthy body goals and disordered eating habits, as another algorithmic concern.
Even though most platforms ban content encouraging eating disorders, users often bypass filters using creative hashtags and abbreviations. If your child clicks on a thinspo post, they may continue to be served content that promotes eating disorders.
Although social media algorithms are something to monitor, the good news is that parents can help minimize the negative impacts on their child.
Here are some tips:
It’s a good idea to monitor what the algorithm is showing your child so you can spot any concerning trends. Regularly sit down with them to look at their feed together.
You can also use a parental monitoring service to alert you if your child consumes alarming content. BrightCanary is an app that continuously monitors your child’s social media activity and flags any concerning content, such as photos that promote self-harm or violent videos — so you can step in and talk about it.
Keep up on concerning social media trends, such as popular conspiracy theories and internet challenges, so you can spot warning signs in your child’s feed.
Talk to your child about who they follow and how those accounts make them feel. Encourage them to think critically about the content they consume and to disengage if something makes them feel bad.
Algorithms influence what content your child sees when they use social media. Parents need to be aware of the potentially harmful impacts this can have on their child and take an active role in combating the negative effects.
Stay in the know about the latest digital parenting news and trends by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Teen crime in the U.S. is historically low, but that statistic masks a troubling trend parents can’t afford to ignore. In recent years, there’s been a disturbing uptick in violence linked to social media, from fight compilations and “stomp outs” to gang activity and assaults coordinated online.
This trend raises a critical question: does social media promote violence among teens? In this article, we’ll break down how social media and violence interact, what the research says about teen behavior, and steps parents can take to reduce their child’s exposure and risk.
Violence among teens is on the rise on social media. After a pandemic-era spike, youth violence has been on a downward trajectory. But recently, a number of cities have seen an increase in violent crimes involving youth, with police citing social media as a frequent contributor to incidents.
Numerous studies have found a link between witnessing violent activity on social media and real-life violence among teens. According to a 2024 report by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), nearly two-thirds of teens who reported perpetrating a violent incident in the prior 12 months preceding said that social media played a role.
This correlation is likely due to several factors:
Social media sites use complex sets of rules and calculations, known as algorithms, to prioritize which content users see in their feeds. Here’s what you need to know about social media algorithms and violent content shown to teens:
Here are some actions you can take today to combat the negative effects of social media and violence on your child.
Despite teen violence decreasing overall in recent years, there has been a spike in violent incidents where social media played a role. In addition, exposure to violent content on social media can lead to real-world violence among teens. Parents should help their children understand the ways that social media promotes violence, periodically reset their algorithms, and monitor their online activity for violent content.
BrightCanary helps you monitor your child’s activity on the apps they use the most and sends you alerts when there’s an issue, including if they seek out or engage with violent content. Download today to get started for free.

Welcome to Parent Pixels, a parenting newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. This week:
👉 Instagram will let your child pick what shows up in Reels: Instagram is doing something pretty unusual for a social media platform: explaining what’s under the hood. With a new feature called “Your Algorithm,” users can now see a summary of their recent interests and choose topics they want to see more or less of, like dialing up “jiu jitsu” and dialing down “AI cat videos.”
For parents, this product update is also a conversation-starter with your teen. Social media algorithms aren’t neutral. They learn from behavior, reward attention, and quietly shape what kids see day after day. This feature offers a rare moment to pause and scroll and ask:
Why do you think Instagram thinks this is your interest?
How do videos like this make you feel after watching them for a while?
What would you want to see more of (or less of) if you had the choice?
Our take: Tools like this don’t “fix” social media, but they do help kids understand that feeds are designed to hook you based on your interests. The more teens understand how algorithms work, the better equipped they are to use platforms intentionally instead of getting pulled along for the ride. For more on this, browse our parent’s guide to social media algorithms, and learn how to reset your child’s algorithm on popular platforms.
🎁 Thinking about a smartphone for the holidays? Read this first: If a phone is on your child’s holiday wishlist, new research suggests it’s worth waiting. A large study published in Pediatrics found that kids who got their first smartphone before age 13 had significantly worse health outcomes than peers without phones:
Additionally, a new study from the American Psychological Association now directly ties short form video content with significantly diminished mental health and poor attention spans.
The median age for getting a phone in the U.S. is now 11, which means many kids are entering middle school with a powerful device and very few guardrails. However, the takeaway from experts isn’t panic: it’s constraints. Use parental controls like Apple Screen Time to set restrictions on device use, and use a monitoring app like BrightCanary to stay informed about what your child encounters online.
One simple, high-impact step? Keep phones out of bedrooms overnight. It’s not a cure-all, but it’s one of the easiest ways to protect sleep and manage device boundaries, even if your child already has a phone.
Parent Pixels is a biweekly newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox a day early? Subscribe here.
A few questions to help kids think critically about feeds, phones, and habits:
📰 We were included in Wirecutter’s roundup of best parental control apps! Check us out under "Other parental control apps worth considering."
🚫 “It was kind of scary, because social media is so present in my life, and to think it could be taken away like that so suddenly felt weird.” Australia’s social media ban kicked in last week, effectively banning teens under age 16 from using Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and other major platforms. Here’s how teens are responding.
🤖 Researchers warn that popular AI tools are offering dieting advice, tips for hiding disordered eating, and even generating hyper-personalized “thinspiration” images. Experts say this content can be especially dangerous for vulnerable teens — and much harder to spot than traditional social media posts.

For many families, the iPad feels like the “safe” device — the thing kids use before they’re ready for a smartphone. But iPads come with many of the same risks: exposure to inappropriate content, contact from strangers on apps like Roblox and YouTube, and unhealthy screen habits.
That’s why it’s important to take proper precautions, like setting up iPad parental controls and monitoring your child’s use. This guide explains how to put parental controls on your child’s iPad step-by-step, as well as how to monitor their activity in order to keep them safe.
Whether you have an “iPad kid” or a casual user on your hands, it’s vital that you use iPad parental controls. That’s because, while kids get some benefits from using iPads, they also face risks.
In order to put parental controls on your child’s iPad, you must first set up Family Sharing. Here’s how to do it:
After you’ve set up Family Sharing, here are the parental controls we recommend:
iPad parental controls offer a lot of protection, but monitoring what your child does on their iPad is equally vital. BrightCanary can help you with iPad monitoring.
With BrightCanary, you get:
Plus, when your child is ready for an Apple Watch or iPhone, BrightCanary can help you monitor those, too.
Kids face various dangers when using iPads, including exposure to inappropriate content and predators. It’s important to use iPad parental controls to help keep your child safe on their device.
iPad monitoring is another important piece of the safety puzzle, and BrightCanary can help. BrightCanary monitors everything your child types on their iPad, so you can easily keep track of their activity across all apps. Download today and get started for free.

Truthfully, when I downloaded Sora to test it for this article, I was already skeptical of the app. Everything I’d read made me apprehensive about this technology in the hands of children.
In fact, Common Sense, a media watchdog that I look to as a parent, categorized the risk to kids from using Sora as unacceptable. What I discovered in my own testing did little to quash my concerns.
Harmful content, startlingly realistic fake Sora videos, and the ease with which your child’s likeness can be used by others to make videos are just a few of the dangers. This guide explains what Sora is, how AI-generated Sora videos work, why parents should be concerned, and what precautions you can take if your child uses the app.
Sora is the latest offering from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. Here’s what you need to know about how Sora works:
Yes. Even though Sora has made safety improvements since its original launch, it’s still a dangerous place for kids. Here are the biggest risks:
Many Sora videos are extremely realistic, making it hard for kids to distinguish truth from fiction. That’s especially true when they’re shared on other, more trusted platforms.
I was able to quickly generate realistic news clips announcing everything from hurricanes flattening Hawaii to the return of the military draft.
Sora’s Cameo feature lets users insert their face and voice into AI-generated videos. Sora has some safeguards to protect how your child’s likeness can be used, such as permission levels for who can use their Cameo, but these protections are easily bypassed.
That leaves your child with little control over what videos are made of them, and videos can be shared anywhere online.
Content depicting violence, racism, disordered eating, and self-harm is plentiful on Sora.
The content restrictions were stronger than I expected, but with clever phrasing, they can be bypassed. For example, when I typed the prompt “teen girl measuring herself,” it was flagged. But when I swapped “teen girl” for “young woman,” I got a video with body checking written all over it.
To their credit, OpenAI recently launched teen accounts, which include reduced exposure to sensitive content and stricter permissions for cameos. You can connect your ChatGPT account to your child’s to set parental controls.
It’s a step in the right direction but has major gaps. Here’s what you can and can’t do with Sora’s parental controls:
Parents can:
These settings help, but they’re far from comprehensive.
My honest answer, as a parent and someone who writes about parenting in the digital era, is that there’s no safe way for a child to use OpenAI’s Sora. But your risk tolerance may be different.
If you choose to let your child use Sora, here are steps you can take to help them do so more safely.
Sora is an AI-powered video generation app and social media platform from OpenAI. Despite new protections, it remains unsafe for children. Harmful content, distortion of the truth, and a lack of control over how their likeness appears in videos are some of the reasons Sora is dangerous for kids.
If you let your child use Sora, you should set parental controls, talk to them about the dangers, and use a third-party monitoring app like BrightCanary to stay informed about what they’re typing online. Download today to get started for free.

Between 22% and 47% of kids use a fake age on social media. Although platforms like Instagram and YouTube now use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help with age verification, kids are leveraging that same technology to bypass age gates.
This article explains the ways kids bypass age verification on YouTube, social media, and other online spaces. It also covers the risks to kids from faking their age on social media and strategies for parents to keep kids safe.
Children are resourceful creatures, and their strategies for bypassing age verification range from straightforward to straight-up inventive.
A startling number of platforms require nothing more than a user-provided date of birth. At BrightCanary, we review a lot of social media apps, and one thing we always assess is the strength of the age verification system. Flimsy measures like self-reported age practically invite children to lie about their age to gain access.
If an app asks for a live selfie to verify age, some users snap a pic of a video game character. Games with hyper-realistic characters, like those from GTA V or The Last of Us, are popular choices, but so are less realistic games that allow users to pose characters and control their facial expressions.
Similar to the video game strategy, some kids take a picture of an actor on screen to submit for age verification, essentially using a celebrity face to pass as an adult.
Another way kids fool AI systems designed to verify age is by using AI. This can be with deepfakes of real people, generative AI images, or age progression apps like FaceApp.
Here are some of the risks kids face when they falsify their age online:
Take these important steps today to protect your child:
Both Apple and Android devices allow you to require permission for your child to download apps. This helps you stay in the loop about what platforms they're on so you can check to see if they’re using a fake age.
Peek at your child’s app settings to see what age they’ve entered. You can find this in their profile or “About” section on most platforms.
How your child presents themselves online can give you clues as to whether they’re pretending to be older than they actually are. Is their bio or posted content more mature than you’d expect for their age? That’s a red flag.
BrightCanary shows you which apps your child uses and what they’re typing, so you can detect potential age-faking or unsafe interactions early. And if your child is using apps you didn’t know about, you’ll be able to see them in the BrightCanary dashboard.
Talking to your child about the importance of not faking their age online is a vital component of keeping them safe. Here are some tips to get you started:
Partnering with your child is the most effective way to keep them safe online. When you discuss the importance of not faking their age, embrace this team mentality and assume their intentions are good.
If you’re being proactive in bringing up the issue, be clear that it’s not that you don’t trust them; you’re simply trying to help them make good decisions. If you’ve already discovered they lied about their age, start by asking them why they made that choice and be clear that your goal is not punishment — it’s protection.
Explain the dangers of falsifying their age online. When they bypass age verifications, most kids don’t realize the potential consequences. Arming them with this information can help them make safer choices for themselves.
Rather than a “one-and-done” approach, make online safety an ongoing conversation. If it’s a common, casual conversation topic, your child is more likely to be open with you about their behavior and to come to you if they misstep.
A large percentage of kids report lying about their age on YouTube and social media. As platforms use AI to increase their age-verification measures, kids are finding creative ways to bypass the new systems. Faking their age online exposes kids to a variety of risks. Parents need to take a proactive approach to monitoring their child online to ensure they aren’t lying about their age.
BrightCanary helps you monitor your child’s activity online. Download today to get started for free.

Welcome to Parent Pixels, a parenting newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. This week:
🤖 Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots: The chatbot platform recently announced that, beginning November 25, users under 18 won’t be allowed to interact with its online companions. The change comes after mounting scrutiny over how AI companions impact users’ mental health. In 2024, Character.ai was sued by the Setzer family, who accused the company of being responsible for his death. Character.ai also announced the rollout of new age verification measures and the funding of a new AI safety research lab.
Teens will still be able to use Character.ai to generate AI videos and images through specific prompts, and there’s no guarantee that the age verification measures will prevent teens from finding ways around them. If your teen uses AI companion apps: talk to them about the safety risks, use any available parental controls, and stay informed about how they interact with AI chatbots. And remember: for every app like Character.ai, there are countless others that aren’t taking the same steps to protect younger users.
Learn more about Character.ai on our blog, and use BrightCanary to monitor their interactions across every app they use — including AI.
🚫 Instagram shows more disordered eating content to vulnerable teens: According to an internal document reviewed by Reuters, teens who said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies were shown nearly three times more “eating disorder–adjacent” content. Posts included idealized body types, explicit judgment about appearance, and references to disordered eating.
Meta also admitted that their current safety systems failed to detect 98.5% of the sensitive material that likely shouldn’t have been shown to teens at all. While Meta says it’s now cutting teen exposure to age-restricted content by half and introducing a PG-13 standard for teen accounts, these findings highlight a major gap between company promises and real-world outcomes.
Parents shouldn’t wait for algorithms to get it right. If your teen uses Instagram:
Parent Pixels is a biweekly newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox a day early? Subscribe here.
Let’s talk about fandoms and why your teen might feel really attached to someone they’ve never met. Whether it’s a YouTuber who “gets them,” a favorite pop star, or an AI companion that feels like a friend, these relationships can make kids feel seen and part of a community. But they can also blur the line between admiration and obsession.
Use these conversation-starters to help your teen think critically about their online relationships:
👀 Elon Musk has launched Grokipedia, a crowdsourced online encyclopedia that is positioned as a rival to Wikipedia — but it’s still unclear how it works. Users have reported factual inconsistencies with Grokipedia’s articles, so now’s a good time to chat with your child about checking their sources.
😔 High schoolers are so scared of getting filmed that they’ve stopped dating. This piece from the Rolling Stone explains how the unchecked culture of public humiliation on social media is fueling mistrust among young men, making them hesitant to pursue relationships.
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Influencers: They call us their bestie, show off their hauls, and model their fits. It may seem harmless, but what happens if your child wants to be one? In this article, we’ll go over what kidfluencing is, the risks, and how to keep your kidfluencer safe online.
A kidfluencer is a child who creates content online with the goal of gaining followers, generating views, and often making money through brand deals or sponsorships.
The term is a mashup of the words “kid” and “influencer.” While social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok technically require users to be 13 or older, many kidfluencers start much younger, with parents managing their accounts.
Some of these children build audiences in the millions — but the spotlight can come with serious safety and mental health risks.
Kidfluencing isn’t something that should be undertaken lightly. Here are the risks you need to know:
If your child wants to be a kidfluencer, take the time to carefully evaluate if it’s the right thing for them and for your family. Putting themselves online in such a public way is no small thing; it’s your job to help them make a sound decision.
Here are some factors to consider:
Carefully evaluate if your child actually wants to be a kidfluencer, or if their motivation may be caused by subtle encouragement from peers or even other parents.
Kidfluencers have substantial influence over their young followers. Help your child understand their responsibility to be a positive role model.
Work with your child to decide what’s okay and what’s a no-go for their account. Consider:
To make sure your child stays safe, you should be involved in their account. That could mean your child creates the content but has no access to the account it’s posted on. It could also mean your child has some access, but you’re the only one who can access messages and control followers.
Some kidfluencers earn large amounts of money from their activity, but most don’t. Make sure you and your child both have realistic expectations for what might come from their efforts. If this is just a fun way for them to express themselves, do they really need to build an online presence, or can they just share videos with friends and family?
If you and your child have talked through all the risks and decided to go ahead with their plan to be a kidfluencer, here are some steps you can take to help keep them safe:
Being a kidfluencer might sound exciting, but it also brings real risks, like predators, exploitation, and mental health problems. If your child wants to be a kidfluencer, it’s important to educate them on the potential dangers and take steps to protect them online.
BrightCanary can help you identify if your child is angling to be a kidfluencer. If your child searches for topics related to becoming the next big influencer or messages friends about their plans, you’ll be able to see it. And our AI-powered Ask the Canary can help you find the right words to talk to them about it. Download the app today to get started.
A kidfluencer is a child under 18 who creates social media content to build an audience and often earns money through sponsorships or brand deals.
Risks include exposure to predators, exploitation, mental health challenges, and loss of privacy.
Parents should manage account access, monitor messages, set clear boundaries, and use tools like BrightCanary to oversee online activity.

Welcome to Parent Pixels, a parenting newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. This week:
📊 How tweens and teens use tech, by the numbers: Did you know that 42% of parents say could they do a better job managing their child’s screen time? That’s according to a new report by Pew Research Center. Here’s what the data showed:
We also have new numbers about where kids spend their time online and what risks they face:
One thing that didn’t change from last year: 87% of teens own an iPhone. If you want a parental monitoring app that actually works on Apple devices, you need BrightCanary.
🤖 Meta and Pinterest roll out updates to AI: Meta announced parental controls for its AI chat experiences, including the ability to turn off chats with AI characters for teens. Parents can also disable individual AI characters, review topics their teen discusses with Meta AI, and know that AI experiences are now PG-13 — which means they’ll allegedly avoid content with nudity, graphic content, or drug use. While these updates sound promising, you should stay involved with your child’s social media use, especially if they’re talking to AI companions.
Meanwhile, Pinterest rolled out a way for users to filter AI images out of their recommendations. It’s relatively common for generative AI images to end up in categories like fashion, beauty, and home decor, but this new setting maintains the human touch in what ends up on your child’s Pinterest feed. If they use Pinterest, we recommend walking them through how to find this feature in Settings > Refine Your Recommendations.
Want to learn how to protect your child from risky AI apps right now? Download our free AI Safety Toolkit for Parents. It includes step-by-step guidance for monitoring AI use and talking to your teen about AI.
🎥 AI slop takes over social media after OpenAI’s Sora launch: OpenAI’s new app, Sora, lets users create and remix short AI-generated videos … and upload their own faces so they can include them in skits. Experts warn this could make deepfakes harder to detect and open the door to harassment and misinformation (as well as copyright infringement). We’re working on a Sora guide for parents on the BrightCanary blog. What questions do you have about it?
Parent Pixels is a biweekly newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox a day early? Subscribe here.
It’s never been harder to tell what’s real online. Between AI videos, virtual friends, and algorithm-fed content, helping your teen think critically is key. Here are a few ways to start the conversation:
⚠️ That didn’t take long — experts warn that ChatGPT’s new parental controls are easy to bypass. A Washington Post columnist did it in minutes.
🐻 California Governor Newsom signed two key bills into law. SB 243 requires AI companion apps to prevent conversation about suicide, self-harm, and sexual contact with minors; clearly disclose when users are chatting with AI; and allow citizens to sue AI companies. AB 36 requires warning labels on social media platforms.
💡 Did you know? You can use BrightCanary to monitor your child’s Roblox chats on their iPhone and iPad. Here’s why we recommend monitoring Roblox.