Child Safety Reporting

Parents and guardians are the first line of oversight on HeyOtto. If you see content that concerns you — in your child's conversations, in a Marketplace listing, or anywhere else on the platform — you can report it in any of the following ways:

• Parent Dashboard. Use in-dashboard reporting tools to flag a conversation, alert, or activity item. This gives our team the full context we need to review quickly.
• Email. Write to safety@heyotto.app with a description of the content, where you found it (conversation, Marketplace link, Studio project, etc.), and the child profile involved if applicable.
• Marketplace. If the concern is a publicly shared creation, include the Marketplace URL or creator name in your report.

You do not need a perfect writeup. Tell us what you saw, where you saw it, and why it concerns you. Screenshots are helpful but not required.

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, see Emergency situations below before anything else.

HeyOtto is a family platform, not an open social network. Most accounts belong to a parent-managed family. When we refer to "reporting a user," we mean reporting behavior tied to an account — such as a Marketplace creator, a co-parent or caregiver on a family account, or a school user in a HeyOtto for Schools deployment.

To report concerning account behavior:

• Email safety@heyotto.app with the account or display name, what happened, and when.
• If you are a parent on the account, use Parent Dashboard reporting where available and note the account in your email.
• School staff and administrators should include their district or school name and contact information so we can coordinate with the right people.

We do not allow adults to contact minors through HeyOtto outside approved family or school structures. Reports of attempts to groom, exploit, or solicit minors are treated as highest priority.

When we receive a Trust & Safety report, we typically:

1. Acknowledge it. A member of our team confirms we received your report.
2. Review context. We examine the reported content or behavior, related logs, and account history — using the minimum access needed to make a decision.
3. Take action. This may include content removal, restricting features, suspending an account, or escalating to law enforcement — depending on severity.
4. Follow up. Where appropriate, we notify the reporting parent, guardian, or school contact about the outcome. We may not share every detail when doing so could compromise another user's privacy or an active investigation.

Reports involving CSAM, grooming, or imminent harm to a child bypass the standard queue and are escalated immediately.

• CSAM, grooming, exploitation, or imminent harm: Immediate triage — we begin review as soon as a report is received, including outside standard business hours when on-call coverage is available.
• Acknowledgment: Within 1 business day for standard Trust & Safety reports.
• Initial review: Within 3 business days for most content and conduct reports.
• Marketplace public listings: Human review of parent-approved share requests typically completes within 3–5 business days; urgent safety flags are prioritized ahead of that queue.

Complex investigations — especially those involving multiple accounts, schools, or law enforcement — may take longer. We will tell you if that applies to your report.

When we confirm that content violates our policies or poses a safety risk, we remove or restrict it. Depending on the situation, that may include:

• Deleting or disabling a conversation segment or AI response
• Revoking a Marketplace publication or public share link
• Restricting or suspending the account that created or posted the content
• Notifying the parent or guardian on the family account

We may preserve copies of removed content when required for legal obligations, abuse prevention, or law-enforcement requests — and delete it when those obligations allow.

If you believe we removed content in error, contact safety@heyotto.app with your original report reference or a description of the content.

If a child is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services first.

In the United States, dial 911. HeyOtto's safety alerts and parent notifications are designed to help families stay informed — they are not a substitute for emergency response.

For crisis support lines and resources in the US, see our Crisis resources page.

After contacting emergency services, email safety@heyotto.app so our Trust & Safety team can preserve relevant records and assist any follow-up investigation.

HeyOtto has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material.

We prohibit the creation, storage, sharing, or solicitation of CSAM on our platform. We do not allow AI outputs, user uploads, Marketplace listings, or any other content that sexualizes minors or depicts child sexual abuse.

If we become aware of apparent CSAM on HeyOtto, we:

• Remove the content immediately
• Preserve evidence as required by law
• Report to NCMEC and cooperate with law enforcement as described below
• Suspend or terminate involved accounts

If you encounter material you believe is CSAM, do not download, copy, or share it. Report it immediately to safety@heyotto.app and, if you are in the United States, to the NCMEC CyberTipline.

Grooming — building trust with a minor to exploit or abuse them — is prohibited on HeyOtto. This includes attempts to move conversations off-platform, solicit personal information, send inappropriate material, or manipulate a child emotionally or sexually.

Our platform is designed to reduce these risks:

• Conversations with Otto are filtered and monitored for age-inappropriate and harmful content
• Parents receive real-time safety alerts for serious categories of concern
• Public sharing requires explicit parent approval and human review
• HeyOtto is not built for stranger-to-child messaging

If you see grooming behavior — in AI outputs, Marketplace interactions, or account activity — report it immediately to safety@heyotto.app. Treat it as urgent even if you are not certain; our team is trained to investigate.

HeyOtto takes seriously our responsibility to protect children. Where federal or state law requires us to report suspected child abuse, neglect, or exploitation — including when we obtain actual knowledge of apparent CSAM on our service — we will make reports to the appropriate authorities.

This may include reports to NCMEC, law enforcement, or state child protective agencies, depending on the nature of the information and applicable law.

We also encourage parents and guardians to contact local authorities when they believe a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm. HeyOtto's reporting processes complement — but do not replace — your own obligation to act when a child needs help.

We cooperate with law enforcement and respond to valid legal process — including subpoenas, court orders, and emergency disclosure requests — in accordance with applicable law.

Child-safety matters take priority. When a request relates to the safety of a child, CSAM, grooming, or exploitation, we escalate internally and respond as quickly as the law and the request allow.

Law enforcement may contact our Trust & Safety team at safety@heyotto.app. For security vulnerabilities and technical security matters, use security@heyotto.app and our Vulnerability Disclosure Policy.

Under U.S. federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2258A), providers like HeyOtto must report apparent CSAM on our service to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children when we become aware of it.

When we make a CyberTipline report, we provide NCMEC with the information required by law so it can be forwarded to appropriate law enforcement agencies. We preserve associated records as required.

Anyone — not just HeyOtto — can report suspected online exploitation of a child to NCMEC at report.cybertip.org.

For content reports, conduct concerns, grooming, CSAM, or any child-safety issue on HeyOtto:

safety@heyotto.app

Please include, where you can:

• Your relationship to the account (parent, guardian, school staff, etc.)
• What you are reporting and where it appeared
• Approximate date and time
• The child profile or account involved, if applicable
• Screenshots or links (except for CSAM — see above)

For general product help, billing, or account access, contact support@heyotto.app or visit Support.

For technical security vulnerabilities, use security@heyotto.app.