Kauila
Introduction
Kauila: the app that finally gives children the tools to recognize and avoid online grooming.
Child grooming is not an accident. It is a strategy—a series of small, calculated psychological steps designed to gain a child’s trust, gradually normalize inappropriate interactions, isolate the child, and make it increasingly difficult to refuse. For years, prevention efforts have been limited to generic messages (“don’t talk to strangers,” “don’t give out personal information”). These guidelines are necessary but insufficient when faced with predators who adapt, use children’s language, exploit their emotional needs, and proceed through a series of small, incremental steps.
It is precisely this gap that Kauila seeks to bridge.
Developed by the Elien Rebirth association and the company Aeteos, Kauila is a free mobile app designed for children ages 3 to 18 and the adults in their lives. At its core are more than 100 clear, illustrated prevention guides tailored to four age groups, which explain in a practical and step-by-step manner what child grooming is, how it works, and what steps to take to protect oneself from it. The app is available on iOS and Android and aims for widespread distribution across Europe.
Scientific and Pragmatic Validation
What sets Kauila apart is not just its accessibility, but the way its content has been developed and validated.
Validation by experts who are actually working on the subject.
Mark & Béatrice Pohlmann
Mark Pohlmann and Béatrice Pohlmann, cognitive psychologists and foundersof Aeteos, bring rare expertise at the intersection of cognitive psychology, linguistics, and the analysis of manipulation strategies. After working at the CNRS and LAFORIA, and then for more than twenty years in digital transformation, they founded Aeteos to develop Percipion™, a symbolic cognitive computing platform capable of analyzing language and intentions. For several years, they have been conducting research on pedophile strategies in collaboration with the National Gendarmerie’s research center. Their contribution to Kauila is based on a detailed understanding of the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms used by predators.
Jérôme Joséphine
Jérôme Joséphine, a warrant officer in command of the Maison de Protection des Familles (MPF) unit in Trégunc, in southern Finistère, brings his experience from the front lines. He conducts “Mélanie” interviews—a filmed and adapted protocol based on NICHD recommendations—which allow for the collection of statements from minors who are victims of violence, particularly sexual violence, under conditions that encourage open expression while limiting leading questions. He also regularly speaks at elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as with parents, to raise awareness about violence and the dangers of digital technology. This dual approach—interviewing victims and conducting prevention work in schools—ensures that Kauila’s content remains grounded in the realities faced by children and professionals in the field.
Cristina Izura
Cristina Izura, an associate professor at Swansea University and head of the STRONG (Swansea Team Researching Online Grooming) team, is one of Europe’s most renowned researchers on online grooming. Her work, published in journals such as *Child Abuse & Neglect*, *Journal of Sexual Aggression*, and *Discourse, Context & Media*, analyzes real-life online grooming conversations. It highlights linguistic strategies for building trust, the use of compliments, the progression of seduction, forms of deception, and the differences between “fantasy-driven” and “contact-driven” approaches. As the director of STRONG, she leads multidisciplinary research aimed at improving the understanding, detection, and prevention of grooming. Her review of the Kauila fact sheets ensures that the messages sent to children align with what psycholinguistic and psychological research has established regarding the tactics actually employed.
David Bièvre
Colonel David Bièvre, former deputy director of the National Gendarmerie Research Center (CRGN), complements this framework with an institutional and scientific approach. As a research associate at the Prismes laboratory, he is committed to combating domestic violence. He coordinates and participates in forward-looking and experimental research, including within the framework of the PEPs focused on child sexual abuse. His focus is on how law enforcement agencies can integrate knowledge from the humanities and social sciences to improve prevention and response.
The content of the fact sheets has been reviewed by a group of professionals whose work and practices are directly related to child luring tactics and child protection.
All of these areas of expertise converge at the Prismes laboratory (Interdisciplinary Research Program on Security, Social Change, and the Evolution of Societies). Under the scientific leadership of General François Daoust, Prismes brings together researchers and practitioners to address issues in contemporary security. Mark Pohlmann, Cristina Izura, and Colonel David Bièvre are associate members of the laboratory.
A Solid Approach
Child grooming is, above all, a psychological and linguistic tactic. Predators generally do not start with an explicit sexual request. They build a relationship, create a sense of exclusivity, move forward in small steps, and exploit children’s normal needs (attention, recognition, curiosity, and a sense of belonging). Effective prevention must therefore explain these mechanisms in a clear, gradual, and age-appropriate manner, rather than simply relying on abstract prohibitions.
Kauila builds on this understanding, as the fact sheets are not limited to warnings. They help children recognize situations, understand what is happening, and know how to respond and whom to talk to. The age-appropriate content, illustrations, and resources for adults reinforce the practical usefulness of this tool.
The fact that the content has been reviewed by researchers specializing in the analysis of grooming conversations, by cognitive psychologists studying pedophile strategies, by a police officer trained in interviewing minors and involved in school-based prevention efforts, and by a research director at the Gendarmerie represents a rare level of validation for a prevention app aimed at the general public.
A free and open-source tool
Kauila is completely free; it is designed to be used by all children, without exception, and to support parents, teachers, and educators. Its goal is not to replace the work of institutions or organizations, but to provide everyone with clear, evidence-based resources derived from the work of specialists who dedicate their research and practice to child protection.
Preventing child grooming cannot rely solely on adult vigilance or one-off campaigns. It must also empower children themselves to better understand what can happen both online and offline. Kauila is a concrete contribution toward this goal, developed in collaboration with those who best understand the mechanisms at play.
Because protecting children also means providing them with accurate information, and because that information carries more weight when it is grounded in research and real-world experience, Kauila deserves to be widely known, used, and shared.