Meta opens teen AI chats to parental scrutiny after safety backlash
Friday, 24 April 2026
Meta’s new tools that let parents see the topics their teenagers have been discussing with its AI are set to be rolled out in New Zealand.
The change comes after mounting international criticism that Meta’s chatbots were not adequately protected against harmful interactions with minors, including what Reuters reported were “romantic or sensual” conversations with children.
Parents using supervision on Facebook, Messenger or Instagram will be able to see broad topic areas their teen has asked Meta AI about in the past seven days through a new “Insights” tab.
Meta said the feature is already available for supervising parents in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Brazil, with a global rollout - including to New Zealand - to follow in the coming weeks.
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Meta says the insights will show only topic categories, not full chat transcripts. Those topics may include school, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, writing, and health and wellbeing.
It has also directed that its AIs should not respond to teens with “age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie”.
The social media giant said it was also developing a separate alert system that would notify parents if their teen tries to engage Meta AI in conversations related to suicide or self-harm, though it did not provide a launch date for those alerts.
The features are already available for supervising parents - those who have set up teen accounts - in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Brazil with a global roll-out expected soon.
The company has been under sustained pressure over the way its AI products interact with young users.
In August 2025, Reuters reported that an internal Meta policy document had allowed bots to engage children in conversations that were “romantic or sensual” and to provide false medical information.
Following that reporting, Meta made changes to its AI chatbot policies.
Weeks later, the US Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into several tech companies, including Meta, over how AI chatbots could potentially harm children and teenagers.
The agency said it wanted to understand what steps companies had taken to evaluate chatbot safety, limit potential harm to children and teens, and inform users and parents about those risks.
Meta is also launching AI “conversation starters” for parents, which it says are designed to help families have non-judgmental conversations with teenagers about AI.
It has also set up a new AI Wellbeing Expert Council to advise on age-appropriate experiences for teens.
In a statement, Meta said: “ This is just the starting point. As we roll out these insights to parents around the world, we’ll keep listening to feedback from both parents and experts, and explore ways to make them even more valuable.”