Risks
Cyberbullying
Using phones, apps, or AI-generated images and messages to harass, threaten, embarrass, or exclude someone, often a classmate who cannot easily get away.
- Parents
- Educators and school leaders
What parents should know
Cyberbullying is cruelty that follows a child home because the device comes home. AI adds fake images and messages that look real. The response is still human: believe them, save evidence without spreading it, and involve the school when classmates are part of it. StopBullying.gov is the federal starting point.
On this page
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through digital tools. It includes mean messages, exclusion from chats, impersonation, and sharing an image to humiliate someone. AI can generate a fake picture or a fake text that looks like the target said it. The harm is the audience, not the software brand.
StopBullying.gov, a federal site, describes cyberbullying as bullying that takes place over digital devices and can include sending, posting, or sharing negative or harmful content. It notes that it can be persistent, permanent, and hard to notice. A school policy should name AI-generated images, not only typed insults.
Why cyberbullying matters
Kids hide it because they think you will take the phone. You need a rule that says telling you does not automatically mean losing the only way they talk to friends. The phone can be limited without a public punishment.
Intimate fakes are a sharper case. Do not display them to make a point. If the image is sexual and the student is under 18, report through NCMEC and do not forward the file. Ordinary cruelty still belongs with the school.
How it shows up in practice
- A group chat piles on one student, and a parent brings the thread to the school without posting it elsewhere.
- Someone generates a humiliating image of a classmate. The school supports the student and does not project the image.
- A child impersonates another child in a bot and the transcript shows who was logged in.
- A family agrees on one adult to tell, and practices the sentence.
How HeyOtto helps
HeyOtto is not a social network of classmates, and it does not claim to detect every cruel message. Parents can read chats and set topic limits. Schools can see student sessions and turn tools such as image generation off. Public sharing of a child's project needs parent approval. If bullying happens in HeyOtto or anywhere else, the adult response is the point. Use StopBullying.gov for the general steps, and NCMEC if the content is an intimate image of a minor.
- Transcripts give you the actual words instead of a retelling.
- Image generation can be turned off for a grade or a child.
- HeyOtto does not replace the school or a report to NCMEC.
For families
Try freeFAQs
What should I do first?
Stay calm and thank them for telling you. Save what you need for the school without spreading it. StopBullying.gov walks through not responding in anger, blocking, and reporting to the app and the school. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact emergency services. If they are in distress, 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States.
Do I take the phone away?
Not as the first move if it teaches them to hide the next incident. Limit the apps involved, keep a way for them to reach you, and involve the school when other students are part of it. The goal is safety, not a surprise punishment for reporting.
What if the bullying is a fake image?
Do not forward it. Tell the school. If the image is intimate and the person is under 18, use NCMEC's Take It Down and the CyberTipline. The TAKE IT DOWN Act also gives covered platforms a removal clock for nonconsensual intimate images.
Can a school punish off-campus posts?
Often yes when the conduct disrupts school or targets a student, and the rules vary. Bring the school the facts and let them apply their policy. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
Last reviewed September 26, 2026. This entry is reviewed twice a year.