Using AI safely and honestly
The rest of this section is about using AI well. This page is about using it safely and honestly: the rules, your privacy, and being straight about what you did.
Traffic light: green
Checking the rules, keeping your personal details out and saying when you've used AI are always green. Using AI where your school's rules say no is red.
1. Check the age terms
Every AI tool sets a minimum age, and they're not all the same. Some also need a parent's permission if you're under 18. Your country can set a higher age than the tool does, and then the higher one applies.
| Tool (as of September 2026) | What its terms say |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | At least 13, and under 18 needs a parent or guardian's permission |
| Claude | At least 18 |
| Gemini | Under 13 only if a parent turns it on through Google Family Link |
These change. Check the tool's own terms before you sign up, and if you're under 18, involve a parent.
2. Your school's rules come first
Your school or teacher may allow AI for some tasks and ban it for others. Their rule beats any general guide, including ours. If a task doesn't say, ask before you use AI, not after. The traffic-light guide helps you work out what to ask.
3. Keep personal details out
What you type is stored on the company's computers, and some companies use chats to train future AI unless you switch that off. So leave out:
- ✗Your full name, address, phone number or school."I'm 14" is plenty.
- ✗Passwords and account details.No real service will ever need them in a chat.
- ✗Other people's details or photos.They didn't agree to it.
- ✗Anything you'd hate a stranger to read.That's the simplest test there is.
4. Say when you've used AI
If AI helped with work you hand in, say so, and say how. It's honest, it's what many schools ask for, and it protects you: nobody can accuse you of hiding something you said upfront. One sentence is enough.
5. If something feels wrong, stop and tell someone
If a chatbot says something upsetting, pushes you towards something that feels unsafe, or asks for personal information, close it and talk to a parent, a teacher or another adult you trust. A chatbot is not a friend or a counsellor, however friendly it sounds.
Next
You know how to use it. Now practise judging what it tells you.
Last reviewed: 25 September 2026