Yes. A companion for teens needs a defensible line between 13+ users and the COPPA rules that took full effect on April 22, 2026, plus California's SB 243 duties for companion chatbots. Devices for older adults raise recording consent, health claims and HIPAA questions. Both need FCC RF exposure evaluation when worn or held close.
AI companion devices sit where several rule sets meet: children's privacy, state chatbot safety laws, wiretap and recording consent, health privacy and FCC radio rules. The hardware is rarely the hard part. The hard part is designing so the product stays on the right side of each rule without a redesign after launch. This guide covers what changes for companions built for teens and for older adults, as of October 2026. It is engineering guidance, not legal advice. Your counsel should confirm how each rule applies to your product.
Where is the COPPA line for a teen companion?
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act rule (16 CFR Part 312) applies to online services directed to children under 13, and to general-audience services with actual knowledge that they collect personal information from a child under 13. The FTC's amended rule took full effect on April 22, 2026. It adds biometric identifiers, including voiceprints, to the definition of personal information. A voice recording of a child was already personal information. The amendments also require a written information security program and a written data retention policy. See the FTC's COPPA rule page and the rule text on eCFR.
For a teen companion, the goal is to be clearly outside the "directed to children" test. The FTC looks at subject matter, visual and audio content, animated characters, the age of models, music, advertising and other evidence of the intended audience. A plush form factor with a cartoon voice reads as a children's product, whatever the terms of service say. In practice:
- Gate account creation on age in the companion app, before the device records anything.
- Keep the industrial design, voice persona, packaging and retail placement aimed at teens and adults.
- Define what the service does when it learns a user is under 13: stop collection, delete the data, and log the action.
- Do not build voiceprint enrollment unless you need it. If you do, keep templates on the device.
This is why we do not build children's products. We will help a client keep a 13+ product clearly on its side of the line.
What does California SB 243 require from a companion chatbot?
SB 243 took effect on January 1, 2026. It applies to operators of companion chatbots, meaning AI systems that give adaptive, human-like responses and can sustain a relationship across interactions. As we read the enacted text, its main duties are:
- A clear notice that the user is talking to AI, where a reasonable person could think it is human.
- A protocol for responding to suicidal ideation or self-harm, including referral to crisis services, published on the operator's website.
- For users the operator knows are minors: disclosure that the chatbot is AI, a reminder at least every three hours to take a break, and reasonable measures to block sexually explicit content.
- A disclosure that companion chatbots may not be suitable for some minors.
- Annual reporting to California's Office of Suicide Prevention, starting July 1, 2027.
A conversational companion is built to sustain a relationship, so plan as if the law applies, and confirm scope with your counsel.
On a screenless device, these duties become hardware and firmware requirements. The AI disclosure needs a spoken prompt and a visible indicator. The three-hour reminder needs a session timer that survives reboots. Crisis referral needs a tested audio path and, ideally, a hand-off to the companion app with tappable phone numbers.
What changes for older adults?
No federal privacy law singles out older adults. The risks come from how these devices are used: always nearby, often in shared homes and care settings, and often bought by a family member or a care provider instead of the user.
- Recording consent. California's Invasion of Privacy Act requires every party's consent to record a confidential conversation. A companion in a living room will hear visitors and caregivers. Use a visible recording light, local wake-word detection, and processing that discards raw audio by default.
- Health claims. A companion that reminds someone to take medication is a general product. One that claims to detect cognitive decline or a medical condition may be a medical device. We design fall alerts as alerts to family or a monitoring service, not as medical-grade fall detection. As of October 2026, FDA's general wellness guidance (January 2026) does not address fall alerts directly. Settle the intended-use wording with regulatory counsel before the marketing copy is written.
- HIPAA. The device itself is not covered by HIPAA. If you sell through a health system or insurer, they will ask your company to sign a business associate agreement and will expect encrypted storage and transport, access logs and a retention policy.
- Who controls the account. Decide what an adult child or caregiver can see. Show the user, on the device, when someone else can listen to or review a conversation.
How do the rules compare for the two audiences?
| Topic | Teens (13–17) | Older adults | What it means for the device |
|---|---|---|---|
| COPPA | Must stay clearly outside "directed to children" and act on actual knowledge of under-13 users | Not applicable | Age gate before first recording; no toy cues in design |
| California SB 243 | Applies, with extra duties for known minors | Applies to conversational companions; confirm scope with counsel | Spoken AI notice, session timer, crisis audio path |
| California CCPA | Opt-in required before selling or sharing data of users under 16 | Standard consumer rights | Data flows mapped and documented in Gate 0 |
| Recording consent (CIPA) | Applies to friends and family nearby | Applies to visitors and caregivers | Recording LED, wake word on device, push-to-talk option |
| Health claims and HIPAA | Rare | Common through care channels | Intended-use wording, encryption, access logs |
| FCC RF exposure | Same limits | Same limits | SAR if worn or held; MPE if used at 20 cm or more |
Does an AI companion need SAR testing?
It depends on distance from the body. Under 47 CFR 2.1093, a portable device, one used within 20 cm of the body, must meet specific absorption rate limits. For the general public the limit is 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 gram of tissue, and 4 W/kg over 10 grams for hands, wrists, feet and ankles. A device that stays 20 cm or more away is a mobile device under 47 CFR 2.1091 and is assessed against field-strength limits instead. Low-power devices may be exempt under the thresholds in 47 CFR 1.1307(b)(3).
The limits do not change with the user's age. The test plan changes with the form factor:
- A desk or bedside companion with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is usually a mobile device. Write "keep 20 cm away" into the user manual only if real use supports it.
- A 4G senior watch, SOS pendant, clip-on or handheld companion is portable. If it has LTE, expect SAR testing at the body positions where it is worn, plus PTCRB and carrier approval. Two-way voice adds carrier VoLTE testing.
- A pre-certified module's grant is usually limited to mobile use at 20 cm. Putting that module in a wearable typically requires new RF exposure evaluation and a change to the grant or a new FCC ID.
We fix the form factor and antenna placement in Gate 0 so the RF exposure path is known before the enclosure is drawn. More in how we plan FCC certification and what a pre-certified module covers.
Which design choices reduce compliance risk the most?
- Process locally, upload less. Wake-word detection and voice activity detection on the device mean less raw audio leaves the home.
- Make recording visible. A hardware-driven LED that firmware cannot turn off while the microphone is live.
- Keep data in your cloud. Devices talk to your backend in a region you choose. You hold the keys. See data sovereignty.
- Plan for the service ending. If the AI service ends, a cloud-dependent device stops working. A local fallback mode and firmware source in your hands keep a device usable.
- Log consent and age events. Record when a user passed the age gate, accepted recording terms or changed settings, so you can show it later.
Questions about companion compliance
Does Duobay build AI companion devices for children?
No. We build companion products for teens 13 and older, adults and older adults. We do not take projects directed to children under 13. Elder care and companions.
Is a 13+ age gate in the app enough to stay outside COPPA?
It helps, but it is not the whole test. The FTC also looks at whether the product and its marketing are directed to children, and at what you actually know about your users. Packaging, characters, voice persona and where you sell all count.
Do SAR limits differ for teens or older adults?
No. FCC RF exposure limits for the general public apply to every user regardless of age. What changes the test plan is how the device is used: worn on the body, held near the head, or set on a table more than 20 cm away.
Does California SB 243 apply to a hardware company?
SB 243 places duties on the operator of the companion chatbot. That is usually the company running the AI service, which is typically the client that sells the device. The device design still has to support the required disclosures, the crisis-referral path and, for known minors, break reminders. Read the bill text.
What happens to the device if our AI service shuts down?
Plan for it in Gate 0. A local fallback mode, a documented way to point devices at another backend, and firmware source in your hands keep devices useful if a service ends. Data sovereignty.
Building a companion or elder care device? Start with our elder care and companions page, then tell us about your product. Gate 0 Feasibility maps the regulatory path before any hardware is built.
Planning a device like this? Tell us what it needs to do. A Duobay engineer replies within 2 business days. Book a scoping call →