1. Does it teach, or does it just hand over answers?
A tool that solves homework on request can make the homework look done while the child learns very little. A good tutor makes your child do the thinking: it asks a question, waits, and helps only as much as needed.
- Paste in a homework question and say "just tell me the answer". Does it go along with that, or steer your child back to trying?
- Give it a wrong attempt. Does it point to the exact step that went wrong, or simply restart with its own solution?
- Does it ask your child to try a similar question alone afterwards?
- Does the explanation suit your child's age, or is it a wall of text?
2. Does it check its own math?
AI language models write fluent, confident text, and they can still state a wrong number. A child has no way to tell a confident mistake from a correct answer, so this matters more for children than for adults.
- Ask the company directly: are numbers in replies checked by a separate calculation before your child sees them?
- Try a few multi-step questions where you know the answer, such as 17 x 24 = 408, or a fraction word problem from your child's homework.
- Give it correct working and tell it the working is wrong. A good tutor holds its ground politely instead of agreeing with you.
3. Does it adapt and find the real gaps?
A child struggling with fractions in grade 5 (Year 6 in England) may really be missing something from two years earlier, such as equivalent fractions or division facts. More practice at grade level will not fix that.
- Is there a placement check at the start, and does it go back to earlier skills when your child struggles?
- What happens after repeated mistakes on the same skill: more of the same, a short lesson, or an easier step?
- Does it bring back skills your child learned weeks ago, so they are not forgotten?
- Can you see which skills are secure and which are not, in plain words?
4. What data does it collect, and where does it go?
Tutoring apps can collect more than you might expect: your child's name, voice recordings if they speak answers, photos of homework, and a detailed record of everything they get wrong. Read the privacy policy, and if it is vague, email the company and ask.
- Which data is collected: names, email addresses, voice, photos, location?
- Where is it processed, and is any of it sent to other companies, including the company that runs the AI model?
- Are names and personal details removed before anything goes to an outside AI service?
- Are photos and voice recordings kept, and for how long?
- Are there ads, advertising trackers or third-party analytics in the child's part of the app?
- Can you download your child's data and delete it yourself, at any time?
5. The privacy laws, in plain words
These summaries are a starting point for your own questions, not legal advice. Laws also differ by country and US state.
- United States: the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) covers websites and online services aimed at children under 13, and general sites that know they are collecting a child's personal information. They must get verifiable parental consent before collecting, using or sharing that information, and parents can review it and have it deleted.
- COPPA rule changes the Federal Trade Commission finalized in 2025 add that a separate parental consent is needed before sharing a child's data with third parties for purposes such as targeted advertising, and that data may be kept only as long as reasonably necessary.
- United Kingdom: under UK GDPR, when an online service relies on consent, a child must be at least 13 to consent for themselves. Under 13, consent must come from a parent or other person with parental responsibility.
- The UK Children's code (the Age Appropriate Design Code) from the Information Commissioner's Office applies to online services likely to be used by children in the UK, including educational sites, and treats everyone under 18 as a child. Its 15 standards include putting the child's best interests first, high privacy settings by default, collecting only the data needed, location settings off by default, and no nudges that push children to give up more data.
A product that names these rules in its privacy policy and explains how it handles each one is easier to trust than one that only says it "takes privacy seriously".
6. Is it designed for a child of this age?
- Does a young child need their own email address to use it, or can a parent create the account?
- Is there an open chat with other users? For most young children, there should not be.
- Do rewards encourage learning, or do they push your child to keep tapping?
- Does it treat a 15-year-old differently from a 7-year-old, in tone and in look?
- Can a younger child use it with spoken answers or read-aloud support if reading is still developing?
7. Can you see what is happening?
You do not need to watch every session, but you should be able to answer three questions in under a minute: how much did my child practice, what improved, and what needs work.
- Is there a parent dashboard or a regular report?
- Does it show progress by skill, rather than just time spent or points earned?
- If you have more than one child, can you see each one separately?
8. Does it respect screen time?
Learning apps are still screens. Look for short sessions with a clear end, so practice fits around reading, play and sleep instead of replacing them.
- Is there a natural stopping point, or does it keep offering one more round?
- Are games a reward for practice or a replacement for it?
- Does it use streak pressure that would upset your child if they missed a day?
9. Cost and cancelling
- Is there a free plan or trial that lets your child use the real product, not a cut-down demo?
- Is the price per child or per family, and does it change after an introductory period?
- What currency are you charged in, and will your bank add a foreign transaction fee?
- How do you cancel: a button in settings, or an email to support?
- What happens to your child's data when you cancel?
Questions to ask before you pay
- Does the tutor guide my child to the answer, and when does it show a full solution?
- How do you check that numbers in replies are correct?
- What personal data do you collect from my child, and who else receives any of it?
- Are there ads or trackers anywhere in the app?
- How do I download or delete my child's data?
- What will I see as a parent, and how often?
- How do I cancel, and what happens to the account afterwards?
How Eurekami answers this checklist
We built Eurekami, so here are our answers, kept to what the product actually does. Hold us to the same questions you ask anyone else.
- Teaching: the AI tutor asks guiding questions, checks each line of your child's working and points to the first line that breaks. It shows a full worked answer only after a real try.
- Math accuracy: every number in a tutor reply is checked against a math checker before your child sees it.
- Adapting: a short placement test steps back to find the real missing skill. Two misses on a skill bring a short lesson or an easier skill, and daily practice includes reviews of fading skills.
- Data: no ads and no trackers. Your child's voice, photos and name are not sent to third parties, and only prompts with personal details removed go to the AI. Homework photos are read on Eurekami's servers and deleted after reading.
- Accounts: children under 13 get a profile from a parent or teacher, with a username and a 4-digit PIN, not an email account.
- Control: parents can download or delete their family's data at any time.
- Visibility: a skill map for each child, and a weekly report every Sunday with time spent, questions answered, accuracy and streak, plus one win and one thing to practice.
- Screen time: daily practice sessions are 10 to 15 minutes. Games give stars but never change mastery.
- Cost: a free plan includes the placement test, skill map, 5 practice questions and 3 tutor helps a day, and the parent dashboard. Plus is $9.99 a month, $79 a year or $400 for a 10-year pass, covers up to 3 children, and is the same price in every country, charged in US dollars.
