Reclaiming Parental Sovereignty in the Age of AI
HeyOtto was built with one simple, non-negotiable belief: Children deserve a safer way to explore AI, and parents deserve to be the primary authority in that journey.
We are a family-first artificial intelligence platform designed to help kids learn, create, and ask big questions — while giving parents the visibility, control, and peace of mind they've been missing in the "Big Tech" era. AI is becoming part of childhood; we believe it should be introduced with Parental Sovereignty at its core.
Proudly based in Atlanta, GA
Bridging the trust gap
families face with AI
Most general AI platforms were built for adults and lacked the essential guardrails that families need.
When AI tools became widely available, a massive "trust gap" emerged. Kids were curious, but parents were cautious. We set out to close that gap — not with restrictions alone, but with a product that earns trust from both sides of the table.
Worldview Control
Let parents align AI responses with their family's specific values — not defaults set by a platform that doesn't know your family.
Socratic Learning
Move beyond "answer bots" toward AI that teaches kids how to think — guiding curiosity and critical reasoning, not just delivering answers.
Uncompromising Visibility
A real-time bridge between a child's curiosity and a parent's oversight — so families stay connected, not left in the dark.
Developmentally Aligned
Tailored tone and content for each child's age and learning stage — because a 7-year-old and a 15-year-old need very different experiences.
Safety is our starting point —
not an afterthought
While most platforms focus on content moderation, we focus on Holistic Integrity — where security, ethics, and user experience are developed as a single, inseparable unit.
Age-Adaptive Logic
Conversational boundaries that evolve as your child grows.
Privacy by Design
Deep respect for child privacy (COPPA) and zero data monetization.
No Manipulative Engagement
We build tools to support childhood — not to "hook" or rush it.
Value-Aligned Guardrails
Parents set the moral and social parameters of the conversation — not Silicon Valley.
Built by people who take this seriously
Natalie Gibson
Founder & CEO
Natalie is a product leader who has spent her career building applications where privacy, security, and user trust were foundational. Her experience spans global regulatory environments, including GDPR, PCI standards, HIPAA, and international data protection frameworks.
But HeyOtto didn't start as a technical exercise. It started with a question: If children are going to use AI, why aren't we building it specifically for them — with higher standards, not lower ones?
Natalie saw her own family navigating powerful AI systems that were never designed with children in mind. She believed kids deserved something built intentionally, with care, foresight, and accountability. That belief became HeyOtto.
Co-Founder & Security Leadership
HeyOtto's co-founder brings over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity and network infrastructure. His background includes designing and defending secure systems, protecting digital environments at scale, and proactively mitigating emerging threats.
Together, the founding team built HeyOtto on a simple principle: Content moderation alone isn't safety.
- Secure infrastructure
- Encryption and data protection practices
- Continuous system hardening
- Careful data minimization
- Transparent policies
“Children's AI should never be built casually. It requires product discipline. Security-first engineering. Clear ethical standards. Long-term responsibility.”
This philosophy shapes every decision we make.
From infrastructure to user experience — we collect only what is necessary, build systems that are defensible and auditable, design for parental transparency, and align with evolving child privacy and global protection standards.
Families deserve more than good intentions
They deserve technology intentionally built to protect. AI for children requires a higher standard of care — and that is the standard we build to every day.
We collect only what is necessary.
We build systems that are defensible and auditable.
We design for parental transparency.
We align with evolving child privacy and global protection standards.
Join Our Growing Family
We built HeyOtto for our families, and we're thrilled to share it with yours. Experience a safe, fun, and educational AI platform designed with your children's wellbeing in mind.