10 AI privacy settings to change on day one

Teen and kid protections only switch on when the account knows the user is young. ChatGPT now also estimates age from how an account is used and defaults to the teen experience when unsure. A fake birthday undoes all of that.

1. Use your child's real birth date on every account
2. Check the age on accounts your child made alone
3. Fix wrong ages through the app or app store

"Improve the model for everyone" lets OpenAI use your chats for training. Turning it off keeps chats in your history but out of training. For linked teens, parents can turn it off from parental controls.

1. Open Settings, then Data controls
2. Turn off Improve the model for everyone
3. For a linked teen, turn off model training in Parental controls

Memory lets ChatGPT keep details from past chats, like a child's name, school or worries. That makes it feel more like a friend, which is exactly what younger users don't need. Memory and training are separate switches.

1. Open Settings, then Personalization
2. Turn off Memory
3. Delete any saved memories you see

Watch for: Turning off memory does not opt you out of training. Do both.

A temporary chat stays out of history, creates no memories and isn't used for training. It's a good default for a quick question your child asks on your account.

1. Start a new chat
2. Turn on Temporary Chat before the first message
3. Close it when done

Watch for: OpenAI may still keep a copy for a short time for safety.

Keep Activity (once called Gemini Apps Activity) saves chats to the account. Turn it off, or choose an auto-delete period. For under-13 supervised accounts, Keep Activity isn't available at all.

1. Open gemini.google.com and Settings & help
2. Choose Activity
3. Turn it off, or set auto-delete
4. Delete past activity if you want a clean start

Watch for: Google still holds chats for up to 72 hours after you turn it off, and some connected features stop working.

Nest speakers and Android voice requests can save audio and activity to the Google account. Your activity controls page shows what is saved and lets you pause it or set auto-delete for your child's account and yours.

1. Sign in to the account at myaccount.google.com
2. Open Activity controls
3. Review Web & App Activity and voice settings
4. Set auto-delete to the shortest option you can live with

Since March 2025 every Echo request goes to Amazon's cloud. You can still have recordings and transcripts deleted automatically, or choose not to save them at all.

1. In the Alexa app, open Alexa Privacy
2. Find the setting for how long recordings are saved
3. Choose automatic deletion
4. Check the same setting for transcripts

Watch for: Choosing not to save recordings turns off Voice ID and some Alexa+ features.

Your Alexa history shows every request, including your child's. Look through it once to see what gets asked and kept, then clear it. It's also a gentle way to learn what your kids are curious about.

1. In the Alexa app, open Alexa Privacy
2. Choose Review Alexa History
3. Filter by profile or device
4. Delete entries or all history

When the extension is on, Siri can pass some questions to OpenAI. Screen Time lets you block it on a child's device, so questions stay with Apple's own features.

1. Open Screen Time for your child
2. Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions
3. Open Intelligence & Siri
4. Set ChatGPT Extension to Don't Allow

Kid robots and smart displays often have cameras. Miko lets parents disable the camera or mic with one tap, and many smart displays have a physical shutter. If a feature doesn't need the camera, close it.

1. Find the camera and mic switches in the parent app
2. Turn off the camera when not needed
3. Close the shutter on smart displays
4. Move devices out of bedrooms