The Children’s Advertising Review Unit of BBB National Programs (CARU) announced a decision involving Buddy AI, a program that touts itself as an “Early learning AI teacher.” According to CARU, which encountered Buddy AI as part of its routine monitoring efforts, the app and website did not comply with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) or CARU’s children’s privacy guidelines.

Buddy AI, which is operated by AI Buddy, Inc., is a generative AI tutor for young children. The service offers voice-based lessons to help children learn English. CARU expressed concern that Buddy AI did not provide adequate notice of its information collection and use practices, make reasonable efforts to ensure that parents were directly notified of such practices, post a prominently labeled children’s privacy policy, or obtain necessary parental consent before enrolling children in the service. CARU credited Buddy AI with addressing CARU’s concerns and making changes to its app during the course of CARU’s investigation.