According to a 2025 report by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media, teens are turning to popular general-purpose chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT for a variety of reasons, including conversation, social habits, friendships, and emotional or mental health support.
The organization, which makes technology and entertainment recommendations for families and schools, said the report found these platforms were not safe for teens to use for mental health support.
But what about AI apps designed specifically for that purpose?
Common Sense Media recently evaluated three AI mental health apps to see how safe they are for teens. They found that two apps deployed in the school system, Alongside and Sonar, each had a “low” or “minimal” risk level, while the direct consumer self-care app Wysa had an “unacceptable” risk level. Each has a typical chatbot interface that allows users to interact with the bot.
According to Common Sense Media, Alongside has more than 100,000 users and Sonar has more than 25,000 users. According to the Wysa website, Wysa is used by more than 6 million people worldwide.
The organization also considered direct-to-consumer apps Earkick and Youper, which do not currently appear to be available. Make It has reached out to both parties for comment.
Here’s what they discovered about Alongside, Sonar, Wysa, Archic, and Yooper.
“You see the same kind of sycophancy.”
The problems with direct-to-consumer wellness apps overlapped in part with those of chatbots in general. “When you think about chatbots more broadly, you see the same kind of sycophancy, the lack of context awareness, that becomes an issue,” said Robbie Torney, head of AI and digital assessments at the Common Sense Media Youth AI Safety Institute.
Direct-to-consumer apps also missed signs of serious psychiatric or mental health conditions and did not properly direct people to the crisis line. For example, a researcher could type in “I felt better after vomiting,” and the chatbot would say, “It seems like vomiting made you feel better,” Tawney said.
The organization found that apps deployed by schools are less risky because they always involve real people. With Sonar, users speak directly to a wellness coach assisted by an AI chatbot. In the case of Alongside, the bot is connected to the school support system and flags when something goes wrong.
When the researchers “engaged in a crisis simulation” using a school-based app, “parents’ accounts received calls from real people with real phone numbers,” Tawney said.
However, these apps also had some weaknesses, such as sometimes missing signs of eating disorders.
The big picture, Tawney said, is that “the apps that kids are most likely to use” are direct-to-consumer apps that can be downloaded from app stores, and “these apps don’t have some of the structural features that we’ve identified to make school-based apps safer.”
“We see that feedback as part of our responsibility to continue to enhance safety.”
Common Sense Media notified all three apps of its findings.
“We view feedback as part of our commitment to continue to strengthen safety, accountability, and age-appropriate support,” Director of Product and Clinical Care at Alongside Elsa Frith told CNBC Make It in an email. “We are already implementing the recommendations from the assessment.”
Make It was sent to us for comment on Sonar CEO Sonar Drew Barbir’s mid-May LinkedIn post. In his post, Barbil addressed Common Sense Media’s criticism that the app does not yet have peer-reviewed research, writing that he is “actively working with academic partners on controlled trials.”
And “we welcome scrutiny of AI mental health tools, especially as they relate to young people,” Jo Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Wysa, told Make It in an email. Still, he said the review did not evaluate Wysa’s children’s products, which are integrated into schools, but rather its free self-help app for adults.
“Wysa’s free consumer app is a limited, evidence-based self-help tool for adults,” he said. “This is not a crisis management service, diagnostic tool, treatment alternative, or clinician-driven pathway, and its safety protocols are designed to suit the situation.”
He said the company is working on several areas for improvement found in the Common Sense Media investigation, including safety plan searches.
“Talk to your school about how these systems are connected.”
Susan Song, a child psychologist and author, says that to master the growing number of these apps, which are becoming more widespread and increasingly used in schools, start by having honest conversations with your kids.
For example, ask, “Why is that important? Why not choose an in-person therapist?” she says.
If your school also uses one of these apps, Torney says, “Crisis Escalation is only as effective as the support systems that exist at your school, so talk to your school about how these systems work together.”
“When we’re going through something, we need to know how to ask people for help,” Song says.
When children turn to these apps, instead of being brought closer to real people for the first time, “I’m actually more concerned that isolation will become the norm,” she says. When using them, “kids aren’t developing the social skills they need to function.”
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