Short answer: Talkie's own terms say 14+. Apple's App Store rates it 18+. And on the Talkie website, there's very little to stop a younger child starting a chat today.
What is Talkie?
Talkie (talkie-ai.com) is an AI companion app, similar to Character.AI and PolyBuzz. Your child doesn't ask it questions. They pick a character, often anime-style, with its own personality and sometimes a relationship to them, and chat to it like a friend. Those chats can carry on for days or weeks.
What age is it for?
You'll get a different answer depending on where you look.
Talkie's terms set the minimum age at 14 in the UK. On the App Store, where it's listed as "Talkie Lab - AI Playground," it's rated 18+ (Checked 5th October 2026). Google Play rates the Android app differently again.
The website is where it gets messy. When we checked, there was no age check before the characters appeared. A child could open the site and be scrolling through them within seconds.
Why does it matter?
We've seen the same thing with PolyBuzz. The age rating says one thing, but there's not much stopping a younger child in practice. If your child has a laptop, the App Store rating doesn't tell you much about what they can get to.
What you can do
Ask your child if they've used Talkie, or if their friends talk about it. Apps like this tend to spread through school, not adverts.
If they do use it, turn on Teenager Mode. You set the passcode, and it switches off search and character creation. It won't catch everything, but it's worth doing.
Think of "18+" like a film rating. It's a reason to look into it, not a promise that younger kids aren't using it.
If you want to know which AI chat apps your child is using and what they're talking about, Halo Aware can show you.
