Frequently asked questions

Sidekick Junior is an AI learning companion designed specifically for children aged 6-12. Kids can ask questions about science, history, nature, maths, stories, and more. Think of it as a safe, curious friend that encourages learning through conversation.

Sidekick Junior is designed for children aged 6 to 12. All responses are tailored to be age-appropriate, educational, and engaging for this age group. Children under 6 may find it difficult to type their questions, and children over 12 may outgrow the content boundaries.

A parent signs up with their email address, creates a child profile, sets a 4-digit PIN, and chooses daily time limits. Your child then enters their PIN to start chatting. The whole setup takes about two minutes.

Sidekick Junior is currently available on iPhone via TestFlight (invite only during beta). Android and web support are planned for after the initial launch.

Safety is the foundation of Sidekick Junior, not an add-on. Every single message passes through a 5-layer safety pipeline: personal information is blocked before it reaches the AI, every child message is screened by AI moderation, the AI operates within strict age-appropriate boundaries, every AI response is checked again before your child sees it, and full conversation history is available for you to review at any time.

Sidekick Junior actively blocks personal information before it reaches the AI. If your child tries to share their name, address, school, phone number, or other identifying details, the message is intercepted and a gentle reminder is shown instead.

Every child message is screened by AI moderation before it reaches the main AI. Inappropriate content is blocked, and the child sees a friendly redirect. If something concerning gets through, the AI response is checked again before it reaches your child. You also receive alerts for flagged conversations so you can follow up.

Yes, always. Every conversation is stored and available in the parent dashboard. You can read the full history at any time, see usage statistics, and review any safety alerts. Nothing is hidden from you.

Yes. You set a daily time limit during setup, and you can change it at any time from the parent dashboard. When the limit is reached, the session ends and your child sees a friendly message. You can also grant bonus time for special occasions.

The parent dashboard is your control centre. From here you can review every conversation your child has had, see usage stats and time spent, adjust time limits, manage child profiles, and view safety alerts. It is accessible at any time through the app.

Yes. You can create separate profiles for each child, each with their own PIN and time limits. Conversations are kept separate so you can review each child's activity individually.

Sidekick Junior uses Anthropic's Claude, one of the most safety-focused AI models available. Claude Sonnet generates the responses your child sees, while Claude Haiku handles the moderation layer. Both are configured with strict child-safety guidelines.

Almost anything a curious child would want to know. Science, history, nature, maths, geography, space, animals, stories, how things work, and much more. Sidekick Junior encourages questions and explains things in a way that is engaging and easy to understand for the target age group.

Sidekick Junior strives for accuracy and is built on a highly capable AI model. However, like any AI, it can occasionally make mistakes. It is designed to encourage curiosity and learning, not to replace teachers, textbooks, or parental guidance. We encourage parents to use it as a conversation starter rather than an authority.

Sidekick Junior is free during the beta period. Pricing for the full release has not been announced yet. Beta testers will be the first to know about pricing and will receive early access to any paid features.

The beta is invite-only via TestFlight on iPhone. To request access, email hello@majormatters.co with the subject "Sidekick Junior Beta" and we will add you as soon as a spot opens up.

We collect your email address (for parent authentication), child profile information (first name and age, used to personalise responses), conversation history (so you can review it), and basic usage data (session times, message counts). We do not collect location data, contacts, photos, or any other device data.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Conversations are protected by row-level security, meaning only the parent account can access their children's data. PINs are hashed and never stored in plain text. We use Supabase for our infrastructure, which provides enterprise-grade security.

No. We do not sell, share, or use your child's conversations for any purpose other than providing the Sidekick Junior service. Conversation data is sent to Anthropic's Claude API to generate responses but is not used by Anthropic for training.

Sidekick Junior is built by Major Matters, a UK-based independent publisher and technology company. We built it because we wanted a safe AI tool for our own children. If you have questions, reach out at hello@majormatters.co.