Is Poe safe for kids?
Under our published methodology Poe rates in the lower-middle of the platforms we assess: its own terms state that bots 'may produce content that is not suitable for minors' while admitting users from age 13, and age checks rest on self-declared details. Deletion controls and a no-training default on official bots are stronger points, and our searches found no incident record involving minors (checked 2026-07-29).
Checked 29 July 2026 · An assessment by Halo Aware under our published methodology
How it scored
Each dimension is scored 0–4 against published anchors and must cite the evidence below. The overall score is weighted arithmetic, not judgement calls.
| Dimension | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Content safety×25 | 1/4 | e2, e3, e4, e10User-created bots are reachable from age 13 and the terms state bots 'may produce content that is not suitable for minors' (e2). Guidelines ban self-harm methods and sexual content involving minors (e3), with removal rights (e10); adult-content limits defer to third-party model policies (e4). |
| Age controls×20 | 1/4 | e1, e5The terms set a 13 minimum with parent or guardian consent below the age of majority (e1); the privacy policy says a date of birth may be requested only 'depending on your location' (e5). Age assurance rests on self-declaration and we found no distinct under-18 experience (checked 2026-07-29). |
| Data practices×20 | 2/4 | e6, e7, e8, e9, e12Official Poe bots do not train on chats, shield icons flag developer bots that may (e7), and deletion is offered (e8). But chats flow to third-party providers with their own retention (e6, e12), developer bots may store chats externally to train (e9); no minor-specific terms found. |
| Design pressure×15 | 3/4 | e11, e10, e8Poe is framed as a multi-model assistant platform operated by Quora, Inc. (e11), not a companion product, and we found no re-engagement mechanics aimed at attachment (checked 2026-07-29). User-created bots (e10) and a cross-bot memory feature (e8) enable more personal, persistent use. |
| Parental visibility×10 | 3/4 | e1, e5We found no parental controls or family features (checked 2026-07-29); the terms rely on parent or guardian consent alone (e1). Poe's primary surface is the open web at poe.com, which parent-side supervision tools can reasonably oversee; we found no oversight hooks for the mobile clients. |
| Track record×10 | 3/4 | e11We found no court, regulator or major-outlet incident record involving minors specific to Poe or its operator Quora, Inc. (e11), and industry-wide chatbot inquiries (FTC 6(b) orders, state AG probes) do not name Poe (checked 2026-07-29). |
What we found
Every claim is sourced and dated. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
e1The Poe Terms of Service prohibit use by anyone under 13, and require users below the age of majority to have a parent or legal guardian consent to the terms on their behalf (checked 2026-07-29).
"Use of Poe by anyone under 13 years of age is prohibited. You represent that you are at least the age of majority in the jurisdiction where you live or, if you are not, your parent or legal guardian must consent to these Poe Terms of Service and affirm that they accept these Terms on your behalf and bear responsibility for your use."
https://poe.com/tos · captured 29 July 2026
e2Poe's own Terms of Service state that bots accessed via the platform may produce content that is not suitable for minors (checked 2026-07-29).
"Bots accessed via Poe may produce content that is not suitable for minors."
https://poe.com/tos · captured 29 July 2026
e3Poe's Usage Guidelines (last updated 25 Nov 2025) prohibit sharing methods of suicide or self-harm, any sexually explicit or suggestive content involving children and minors, and violent or nonconsensual sexual content (checked 2026-07-29).
"soliciting or sharing information, strategies, methods on how to commit suicide or self-harm; creation of violent, dangerous, sexually explicit or suggestive content involving children and minors; violent and/or nonconsensual sexual content, whether real or simulated."
https://poe.com/usage_guidelines · captured 29 July 2026
e4We found no general prohibition on sexually explicit content between adults in Poe's own Usage Guidelines (checked 2026-07-29); the guidelines instead note that third-party LLMs may impose their own adult-content restrictions.
"Please note, third-party LLMs may have additional usage policies, such as restrictions on generating adult content or use of the bots to provide professional medical, legal or financial advice to others."
https://poe.com/usage_guidelines · captured 29 July 2026
e5The Poe Privacy Policy (last updated 30 Apr 2026) states that a date of birth may be requested to verify age only 'depending on your location' (checked 2026-07-29); we found no described age-assurance mechanism beyond this.
"Depending on your location we may also ask you to provide your date of birth to verify your age."
https://poe.com/privacy · captured 29 July 2026
e6The privacy policy states that third-party AI model providers and third-party developers may receive the contents of users' chats and uploaded photos or documents to provide and improve their services (checked 2026-07-29).
"Our third party AI model providers and third party developers may receive details about your interactions with bots and apps on Poe (including the contents of your chats and photos or documents you upload) to provide and generally improve their services"
https://poe.com/privacy · captured 29 July 2026
e7Poe's Privacy Center states chats are not used for AI training 'in most cases': official Poe bots and prompt bots on major models do not train on chats, while third-party developer bots may, flagged by a per-bot 'privacy shield' icon (checked 2026-07-29).
"In most cases, no. Only third-party developer bots and apps are permitted to use your chats to train their models."
https://poe.com/privacy_center · captured 29 July 2026
e8The Privacy Center states that deleting chats or the account removes them from Poe's systems, while noting that data deleted from a chat may persist in memory summaries until memory data is separately deleted; the cross-bot memory feature can be turned off and its data viewed or deleted in settings (checked 2026-07-29).
"Your chats and personal data associated with your account are deleted from Poe’s systems and will not be used for any other purpose."
https://poe.com/privacy_center · captured 29 July 2026
e9The privacy policy states that developers who create bots and apps on Poe via APIs may view and store users' chats on their own servers to train their models, placing that data outside Poe's systems (checked 2026-07-29).
"Developers that create bots and apps on Poe using APIs may view and store your chats on their servers to train their models."
https://poe.com/privacy · captured 29 July 2026
e10The Terms of Service reserve Quora's right to block, remove or permanently delete user content or user-created bots that breach its terms, its policies or third-party model policies; we found no proactive content-moderation process described in the terms (checked 2026-07-29).
"We reserve the right to block, remove, and/or permanently delete Your Content or Your Bots if they are in breach of these Terms"
https://poe.com/tos · captured 29 July 2026
e11Poe is operated by Quora, Inc. (US), which the privacy policy names as the data controller; the Poe Privacy Policy supplements the Quora Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference (checked 2026-07-29).
"This Privacy Policy applies to activities by Quora, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively “Quora,” “we” or “us”). This Poe Privacy Policy supplements the Quora Privacy Policy , which is incorporated by reference. Quora, Inc. is the data controller of your personal information"
https://poe.com/privacy · captured 29 July 2026
e12The Privacy Center states that each third-party model provider sets its own retention schedule for chats received from Poe, citing 30-day retention at OpenAI and Anthropic as examples, and directs users to those providers for detail (checked 2026-07-29).
"Each provider sets their own retention schedule (e.g. OpenAI and Anthropic retain your chats for 30 days)."
https://poe.com/privacy_center · captured 29 July 2026
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