Lowest-data-looking is not automatically “best”
Privacy decisions should begin with the child's actual use. If the goal is open-ended conversation, a connected microphone and cloud service may be central to the product. If the goal is creative prompting, a push-to-talk closed loop may be enough. If the goal is simply an expressive robot companion, base Eilik can work without Wi-Fi at all.
Miko 3: unusually visible parent toggles, but still a connected child profile
Miko's current product page says parents can disable its camera or microphone, and a March 2026 support article says parents can switch AI conversations off in the Parent App. For new users, Miko says AI conversation starts off by default. Parents can also restrict specific conversation topics.
Miko's privacy policy was updated March 30, 2026 and explicitly applies to Miko 3 and Miko Mini. The product page says no identifiable voice recordings are stored. That is a useful manufacturer disclosure, but parents should still read the current policy because the service collects and processes other information needed for profiles, personalization and connected features.
Loona: facial recognition now also gates memory
Loona already used a camera, microphones and face/gesture recognition. Its August 21, 2026 V19 update added a more consequential privacy feature: memory. KEYi says Loona's memory function activates with facial-recognition input and that memories of strangers are not recorded.
That gives parents a concrete behavior to investigate during setup: whose face is enrolled, what information is remembered, where it is stored, how long it persists, and how it is deleted. The update announcement explains the feature but does not, by itself, answer every retention question. We therefore mark detailed retention as not established from the reviewed source rather than guessing.
Curio Grok: clear transcript window and intentional listening mode
Curio currently publishes one of the clearest retention windows in this group. It says voice audio is deleted after transcription and text transcripts are automatically deleted after 90 days unless a parent removes them sooner. Parents can review and delete child information through the app or privacy process.
Curio also says its toy is not always listening: the device enters a deliberate listening mode, uses audible cues, and can exit by voice command, button action or inactivity. That reduces ambiguity about microphone state, though the toy still depends on Wi-Fi and cloud processing for its conversational experience.
Stickerbox: push-to-talk and closed-loop generation
Stickerbox says its microphone activates only when the top button is pressed, with no wake word or background audio processing. The company says voice data is discarded rather than stored long-term or used for training. New sticker generation still requires Wi-Fi, so this is not an offline device.
Its privacy profile is also structurally different from an open conversational companion: a child speaks a prompt, the system creates a sticker image, and the interaction ends. The companion app can show creation history. That narrower interaction surface is worth distinguishing from a robot designed to hold ongoing conversations.
Eilik AI Station: camera-enabled upgrade with partial offline operation
Base Eilik works without Wi-Fi or Internet according to Energize Lab. The separate AI Station changes that privacy profile by adding an integrated camera, AI conversations, identity-related features and an app. Energize Lab says core AI conversations and games can work offline, while network setup unlocks additional features and updates.
The current product page does not give us the same kind of explicit transcript-retention window Curio publishes. That does not prove data is retained or not retained; it means the detail is unresolved from the source checked. Families should inspect the app permissions and current privacy terms before using face/identity features.
Five privacy questions to ask before purchase
- When is the microphone active? Button press, wake word, listening mode, or continuously?
- Is there a camera or facial recognition? Can it be disabled, and what features stop working?
- What leaves the device? Audio, transcripts, images, face embeddings, prompts, profiles or usage analytics?
- How long is it kept? Look for specific retention periods and parent deletion controls.
- What works without the cloud? This affects both privacy and the product's usefulness if a service changes later.
Sources checked
- Miko 3 official product and parent-control disclosures
- Miko privacy policy — updated March 30, 2026
- Miko AI Conversation Toggle support article
- KEYi — Loona V19 memory update
- Curio FAQ — microphone, retention and parent controls
- Stickerbox FAQ — microphone and voice-data statements
- Energize Lab — Eilik AI Station features
- Energize Lab — base Eilik connectivity FAQ