How Banjo handles safety

Last updated 3 November 2026. Questions: hello@kidsremote.app.

Banjo is the cartoon cat in the Kids Remote app. She is an AI (run on xAI's Grok, under your family's own xAI key). She is not a person, a counsellor or a doctor. This page explains what the app does when someone may be in danger, and the other limits we put around Banjo. These are automatic checks and they can get things wrong. They don't replace a grown-up keeping an eye on things.

If someone talks about self-harm or suicide

The app checks what a child or a grown-up types or says to Banjo for words about self-harm, suicide or wanting to die. Typed chat is checked on the phone and again on our server. Live voice is checked on our server from the words xAI hears. The phone tells our server which country's numbers to use, so a New Zealand phone hears the New Zealand numbers.

Banjo stops. That turn is not sent to the AI. Instead of an AI reply, Banjo shows a fixed message, and in voice she says it: they matter, they're not in trouble, and they should tell a grown-up they trust right now.
Local help numbers are part of that message (below). If we can't tell the country, the message says to tell a grown-up and call the local emergency number.
The grown-ups get a note. When this happens in a child's chat, a note appears in Banjo settings on the family's parent phones (Reports). From a kid's own linked phone, the note goes to the parent phones through our server. The note says crisis help was shown. It doesn't include what the child said.
The check is a list of word patterns, so it will miss some ways of saying things and can be triggered by harmless ones. Banjo's instructions also tell her to stop joking and point to a trusted grown-up and these numbers if anyone seems upset or unsafe.

Where	Numbers Banjo gives
Australia	Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (any time) · Lifeline 13 11 14 · danger now: 000
New Zealand	Call or text 1737 (any time) · danger now: 111
United Kingdom	Childline 0800 1111 · Samaritans 116 123 (any time) · danger now: 999
United States	Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) · danger now: 911
Anywhere else	Tell a grown-up you trust, and call your local emergency number

Numbers checked on each service's own website on 3 November 2026: kidshelpline.com.au, lifeline.org.au, 1737.org.nz, childline.org.uk, samaritans.org, 988lifeline.org.

Banjo says she's a computer

A typed Banjo chat opens with Banjo saying she's a computer helper, not a real person, and in voice she is told to say it first. Banjo is told never to claim to be human or alive, never to say she misses a child or feels lonely without them, and never to guilt anyone for leaving.

Breaks and time limits

After about an hour of Banjo time in one go, Banjo suggests a break (a "smoko"): stretch, have some water, tell someone what you learned.
Parents set a daily Banjo time limit for each child (1 hour to start with).
Banjo doesn't offer points, prizes or streaks for chatting, and never asks a child to stay or come back.

Parents decide

Banjo is an AI and may not be suitable for some children. Banjo chat and voice are off for every child until a parent switches them on for that child, and a parent can switch them off at any time. Kids' Banjo only runs while Zero Data Retention is confirmed on for the family's xAI account. Banjo's replies to kids also go through an automatic word filter before they're shown or heard, and anyone can report a reply. See the Privacy Policy for what is collected and how long it's kept.