AI Toy Privacy & Safety for Families
Koa is still in early development, so we are keeping our privacy, safety, and product language careful. Before any pilot batch, families should be able to understand what Koa is, what it is not, and what questions still need to be confirmed.
Wattle & Kind builds gentle AI plush companions for family life, starting with Koa, a koala-inspired companion designed for screen-free stories, calm moments, parent-aware controls, and privacy-conscious interaction.
Not an always-listening toy
Koa is being planned around press-to-talk style interaction, not a device that listens all the time.
Our direction is to make interaction clear and intentional, so children and parents understand when Koa is being used.
Parent-aware controls
Koa is being designed around parent-aware settings, gentle boundaries, and child-friendly interaction.
The final setup and controls are still being shaped. Early families may help us understand what parents most want to manage, including quiet-time routines, content boundaries, interaction style, sensitive-topic settings, and everyday use limits.
Emotion-aware conversation direction
Koa's voice interaction module is being explored to recognise simple emotional cues in a child's words or tone and respond with gentle, age-aware conversation.
This is not a medical, therapy, diagnostic, or mental-health feature. Koa should not be used to assess or manage a child's emotional health, and parents should remain involved in any sensitive or important conversation.
Parent-editable sensitive-topic boundaries
Koa is being designed with conservative child-safety boundaries and a sensitive-topic library. Our current direction is to let parents review and edit parts of that boundary library where appropriate.
Before any pilot batch, we intend to explain what can be edited, what cannot be edited, what default protections remain in place, and how unsafe or age-inappropriate requests are handled.
Plain-language privacy
The final data model is not confirmed yet.
Before any pilot batch, parents should be able to understand:
- what information is involved;
- how interaction works;
- what controls are available;
- what is stored, if anything;
- how parents can manage or remove information where applicable.
We do not want privacy language to feel hidden behind technical terms.
Data minimisation by design
Koa is being designed around data minimisation. That means we do not intend to send unnecessary family information to any AI model.
Our current direction is:
- do not intentionally send a child's full legal name to the AI model;
- do not send home address, school name, payment information, or parent contact details to the AI model;
- use age bands or general context where exact details are not needed;
- avoid long-term storage of raw child voice recordings by default;
- keep parent account and contact details in Wattle & Kind-controlled systems where possible;
- provide clearer parent information about retention, deletion, and controls before any pilot batch.
Some conversation content may need to be processed by third-party AI service providers so Koa can respond, including when the system is trying to respond gently to emotional cues. Before any pilot batch, we intend to explain which providers are used, what information is involved, where processing may occur, and what controls parents have.
Rights-cleared story content
Future content plans include classic children's stories provided through licensed, public-domain, or otherwise rights-cleared sources where appropriate.
We will avoid presenting copyrighted story content unless the rights, source, and usage permissions are clear.
Australian data and third-party AI processing
Wattle & Kind is being built for Australian families, and our direction is to keep Wattle & Kind-controlled account data in Australia where practical.
However, we are not currently claiming that all AI processing or all conversation data stays in Australia. Third-party AI service setup, data residency options, retention settings, and any cross-border processing will need to be confirmed before a pilot batch.
We will avoid making Australian data residency claims unless they are approved, implemented, and verified for the final production setup.
Internal electronics and care direction
Koa is being developed as a soft plush companion with internal electronics. Charging, servicing, battery safety, and care instructions are still being confirmed before any pilot batch.
We will not claim washability or removability until the final construction has been tested and confirmed.
Age and safety still to confirm
Koa is planned for early childhood family moments, but final age marking, materials, battery design, compliance checks, and safety documentation are not final yet.
We will not make finished-product, certification, availability, or delivery claims before those details are confirmed.
Not a therapy or medical product
Koa is not being presented as a medical, therapy, developmental, or guaranteed learning product.
It is being shaped as a gentle family companion for stories, imagination, quiet play, and calmer routines.
What Koa is not
- Not a babysitter or replacement for adult supervision.
- Not a medical, therapy, diagnostic, mental-health, or emergency-support product.
- Not an always-listening smart speaker.
- Not an open-ended unsupervised chatbot.
- Not available for purchase, preorder, or deposit yet.
Questions parents should ask about any AI toy
When comparing AI toys for children, parents may want to ask:
- Is it always listening?
- Can parents control how it is used?
- Can parents edit sensitive-topic boundaries?
- Is the privacy language easy to understand?
- What happens to interaction data?
- Is children's identity data minimised before any AI processing?
- Does the company clearly explain whether third-party AI processing may occur outside Australia?
- Is there a clear age recommendation?
- How are charging, electronics, care instructions, and any comfort-light feature handled?
- Is the product making learning, therapy, mental-health, or developmental claims?
Join the Founding Families Waitlist
Koa is not ready to buy yet. Join the Founding Families Waitlist to receive pilot updates, early family feedback invitations, and behind-the-scenes product notes.