AI Platforms

Is Perplexity safe for kids? What parents need to know

4 min read · Updated October 26, 2026

Perplexity has few protections for kids. It scores 24 out of 100 in the TeenCue Rating, Few or no protections. Users can delete their threads and account and report answers, but there is no teen mode and there are no parental controls, and chats can be used for AI training unless that setting is turned off. See the evidence behind Perplexity’s score.

Perplexity’s age rules and sign-up

Perplexity’s Terms of Service set a minimum age of 13. Users between 13 and the age of majority may use it only if a parent or guardian accepts the Terms on their behalf. In practice, that consent is a line in the Terms rather than a step in sign-up: we found no parent approval flow in Perplexity’s published pages.

Nor did we find any age check beyond a date of birth the user types in. Perplexity’s Account Settings help page lists a Date of Birth field and says it is used for “age-appropriate results”, but does not explain what changes. There is no teen mode or separate under-18 account type. AI chatbot age limits compares Perplexity with other AI apps.

What Perplexity can do that parents should know about

• It answers questions in conversations Perplexity calls threads, saved in History. If your teen uses it for schoolwork, How to tell if your child is using AI for homework covers that conversation.
• It has a Memory feature and keeps search history, both of which can be turned off.
• For Free, Pro and Max users, the AI Data Retention setting is on by default, and Perplexity says some data may be used to train AI models unless the user opts out.
• Its Privacy Notice says it may share data with advertising partners and that third parties may serve tailored ads, with opt-outs. We found no exclusion of minors from targeted ads.
• We found no fixed time limit on keeping threads. Perplexity says personal information is kept while the account is active and removed within 30 days of the account being deleted.

On safety, Perplexity’s Acceptable Use Policy lists self-harm among restricted uses, but we found no documentation of crisis resources being shown when self-harm comes up, and no teen or child safety page. We also found no published teen content filters, ban on romantic or sexual roleplay with minors, break reminders or limits on persona features for teens.

The parental settings Perplexity actually has

None. Perplexity describes no account linking, time limits, feature controls for parents or way to tell a parent about a risk. These settings on your teen’s own account are worth going through with them:

1. In Account settings, then Preferences, turn off AI data retention, so future data is not used for training.
2. In Settings, then Memory, turn off Memory and Search history. Delete saved memories under Memory, then Manage memories.
3. Delete old threads from History, then More options (the three dots), then Delete all threads.
4. Check that the right date of birth is set in Account settings, then Personalization, then Date of Birth.
5. To report an answer, use the three-dot menu below it.

The gaps those settings leave

• Turning off AI data retention only covers future data. Delete old threads as well.
• The date of birth is self-entered, and Perplexity does not say what “age-appropriate results” means.
• Targeted advertising is not ruled out for minors.
• We found no crisis support documented for self-harm, and a parent has no way to be told if something serious comes up.
• Your teen can change every one of these settings back.

What to do tonight

1. Ask your teen whether they use Perplexity, and for what.
2. Remind them the Terms require a parent to agree for anyone under the age of majority, and decide together whether you do.
3. Turn off AI data retention, Memory and Search history together, and delete old threads.
4. Check the date of birth on the account is real.
5. Tell them that if a chat ever turns upsetting, they can come to you.

Where TeenCue fits

TeenCue cannot change any Perplexity setting and does not block it. TeenCue is an extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on a computer, and it covers perplexity.ai along with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other supported AI websites. For a chat it shows a category, a topic and a concern rating, never what was typed, so you can see whether Perplexity is being used and roughly what for. It does not cover phone apps, and your teen will know it is there. The TeenCue iPhone app is coming soon. How TeenCue works lists every supported service.