About the apgard Benchmark

The apgard Benchmark is an open-source effort to strengthen child-centered technology that prevents online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) and supports youth well-being, aligned with the goals of the Safe Online fund. It was developed by apgard ai, with support from a team of 24 youth mental health, online safety, and AI experts.

The benchmark is designed for any team deploying AI for young people, including education, communication, and wellness apps.

• For parents and schools: Ask technology partners to share apgard Benchmark scores to ensure youth mental well-being standards are met.
• For developers: Integrate the apgard Benchmark into your evaluation pipelines to identify youth mental well-being risks pre and post-deployment.
• For policymakers: Use apgard Benchmark as an input to standards, procurement criteria, and policy development.

We are excited to contribute to the broader youth AI safety ecosystem alongside:

• KORA, AI child safety benchmark
• YouthSafe benchmark and risk detection model
• Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute
• Surgo Health's youth mental health research
• everyone.ai's Relational Positioning, Dependency, and Exclusivity model Policy
• Vys' youth safety advisory services