What must be ready before you add AI to your app

Connecting a language model to an app takes a few hours today. Everything around it is harder: what a user sees when the model is wrong, which data leaves your server and what to do with a problem report. Below is the list we went through for our journaling app.

Say plainly what AI prepared

A person using the app should know when they are reading text from a model. That is a matter of trust and of law. The European Commission states that the AI Act’s transparency rules apply from August 2026. Deferrals concern high-risk systems. Certain providers of systems generating content, on the market before 2 August 2026, have until 2 December 2026 to comply with Article 50(2). Dates have changed, so check them on the official page.

In our app we say so when the account is created, in the reflection statuses and in the report menu on every screen with such content.

Let people report content

If you publish on Google Play, this is mandatory. Google Play’s rules require apps with AI-generated content to let people report offensive content without leaving the app.

A report has to go somewhere. Decide who reads it, how quickly and what happens next. A button that sends a message nowhere meets the requirement only on paper.

Plan for the model declining or going away

A model sometimes declines to answer, and a service can be unavailable. Both states need screens of their own:

• Declining. The user’s work must not be lost. Our entry is saved, and the person sees there is no reflection this time.
• Unavailability. The reflection goes to a queue and arrives by itself when AI returns.
• Limits. If the free version has a limit, say so before someone writes a whole text.

Decide which data goes to the model

For each feature, write down what you send, to whom and how long the provider keeps it. Send only what the model needs. These decisions go into the privacy policy and the store’s data safety form, so prepare them early.

Give users their data back

Export and account deletion are best designed from the start. In our app, anyone can download their data as a JSON file and delete the account. Reflections can also be exported to PDF: from the last 7 days in the free version, from any range in Premium.

When to talk to a lawyer

This list comes from building apps and is not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer if AI touches health, finance, employment or children’s data. The same applies if you are unsure how the AI Act classifies your system.

What to check before turning on AI

How content is marked and reported, what happens when the model declines or fails, what data you send, and how export and deletion work. We can go through this list with you for your app.