💬 Chatbots and assistants · 🧸 Early learning (ages 2-6) · 🤖 AI robots, toys and kits
Bondu
By Bondu. Visit Bondu
Warning: read this before you buy or sign up. Checked 2026-10-24.
Bondu is a 12-inch screen-free plush companion for ages 4 to 8 that talks, tells stories, plays games and answers questions by voice. It remembers past conversations so play can pick up where it left off. Parents use the bondu for parents app to read every conversation, get safety alerts and set controls. Cautionary tale: in January 2026 researchers found Bondu's web console let anyone with a Google account read about 50,000 children's chat logs.
Our take: A cautionary tale: the parent controls are real, but full chat histories were once open to anyone, so families should weigh that before giving a young child an AI friend that records everything.
| Ages it suits | about 4-8 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Terms say you must be at least 18 (or the age of majority) to use the products and services; a minor may use them only with the authorization, consent and supervision of a parent who keeps an active account. (terms) |
| Price | Paid. $199 on sale (list $299.99) in Oct 2026 with one free month of bondu+; bondu+ then from $19.99 a month (more talk time, 50+ languages, insights); base plan includes 30 hours of play a month |
| Works on | A device |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | Yes |
| The AI in it | A generative AI chatbot answers the child by voice and keeps a memory of past conversations; the maker does not name the model provider. |
What's good
- No screen
- Parents can read, review and delete every conversation
- Safety alerts for worrying language
- kidSAFE+ COPPA seal
Watch for
- Jan 2026 exposure of about 50,000 children's chat logs
- Stores full transcripts and personal details a child shares
- Paid bondu+ from $19.99 a month after the first month
- Designed to feel like a friend that remembers the child
Data and privacy
Voice is processed in real time by third-party providers and not kept, but text transcripts of the child's conversations are kept and tied to the parent app, along with family names, pets and interests the child mentions; the phone's precise location is used during setup. Bondu says it does not use this data for ads and holds a kidSAFE+ COPPA seal; whether data trains AI is not stated. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
Security researchers found in January 2026 that Bondu's parent and staff web console let any Google account read about 50,000 chats with names, birth dates and family details. Malwarebytes reports Bondu took it offline within minutes, relaunched it with authentication, and said it saw no evidence of other access.
In the Big Index
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Where these facts come from
- https://bondu.com/
- https://bondu.com/products/bondu
- https://bondu.com/pages/faq
- https://bondu.com/pages/trust-center
- https://bondu.com/pages/terms-of-service
- https://bondu.com/pages/privacy-policy-1
- https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/02/an-ai-plush-toy-exposed-thousands-of-private-chats-with-children
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.