AI toy maker Miko exposed children's conversations in data security incident
Senators discovered an unsecured database containing thousands of audio responses from Miko AI toys to children's conversations, dating back to December 2025. The exposure was identified by staff using publicly available tools to analyze Miko toy communications. Miko denied any breach and announced enhanced parental controls for its products.
What happened
Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal identified an unsecured, publicly accessible database containing thousands of audio responses from Miko toys to children's questions, accessible going back to December 2025.
Staff members from the senators' offices discovered the exposure using free, publicly available tools to examine web communications from a Miko toy over Wi-Fi, and identified audio files through analysis of the web server communicating with the toy.
Audio files often appeared to contain children's names along with details about the children's conversations with Miko.
Reported impact
The exposure allowed anyone the ability to download Miko's side of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of discussions with children.
The senators stated that the exposure and the toys' frequent communications back to Miko called into question whether the company adequately protects the privacy and security of children's and the toy's data.
Index analysis
Miko CEO Sneh Vaswani stated that there had been no breach or leak of user data, that Miko does not store children's voice recordings, and that no children's voices or personal information are publicly accessible.
In response to the disclosure, Miko announced enhanced parental controls including an ON/OFF toggle to enable or disable conversational AI features, with future robot owners experiencing a default OFF setting.
Governance controls
Miko stated it has always been engineered with multi-layered safety protocols and rigorous content filtering to ensure a secure environment for children.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.