Explainer
AI companion chatbots and teenagers: what changed when Character.AI ended open-ended chat for under-18s
One of the best-known companion apps stopped letting teenagers chat freely with its AI characters. What the company changed, why it matters, and what parents can ask about the apps their children use.
Research & stories
Guides, research, investigations and reporting from KIFOV. Every piece is labelled by type, dated, attributed and sourced, so you can tell our own findings from what others have reported.
Explainer
AI companion chatbots and teenagers: what changed when Character.AI ended open-ended chat for under-18s
One of the best-known companion apps stopped letting teenagers chat freely with its AI characters. What the company changed, why it matters, and what parents can ask about the apps their children use.
Explainer
The Take It Down Act is now enforced: how to get an intimate image removed in the United States
Since 19 May 2026, platforms in the US must remove reported intimate images, including AI-made fakes, within 48 hours. Here is how the process works, and how it fits with the services young people already use.
Explainer
Take It Down, Report Remove and NeedHelpNow: how services that remove young people’s images actually work
Hashing, hotlines and platform requests are three different mechanisms. Knowing which one you are using tells you what it can and cannot do.