Pinwheel - Leading US Maker of Smartphones for Children - Launches In The UK

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Nov 19, 2024, 08:47 ET

New phone for children 8-15 removes social media and browser access, along with built-in remote parental management and monitoring tools to reduce family conflict

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents in the UK concerned about the dangers of social media and excessive screen time for children now have the option of a smartphone designed specifically for safe use by children and teens aged 8-15.

Pinwheel phones offer features children want - calling, texting, photos and fun apps, but with tools for parents to remotely manage screentime, contacts, and without any access to social media or open internet browsing.

Pinwheel is first to launch a kid-friendly, safe smartphone alternative to parents in the UK.

Pinwheel, one of the top-rated and best-selling 'child-safe' smartphones in the US, launched for sale today in the UK. Unlike so-called 'dumb phones' with limited functionality, Pinwheel is the first device of its kind available to families here – a connected smartphone that includes built-in parental management tools and blocks access to social media and open Internet browsing but still offers access to the fun features young users enjoy.

Children using the Pinwheel phone – which works with all the major UK mobile networks – can make video calls, send texts, share photos and use age-appropriate apps. Through the Pinwheel Caregiver Portal, parents can customise the settings to meet their child's current needs, then unlock features and apps as they grow into adulthood and learn how to safely manage technology. To guide parents, Pinwheel provides detailed safety ratings on thousands of popular apps.

Pinwheel's safety features and parental controls include:

Remote monitoring of text and call history – Parents can remotely view a child's text messages through a portal without having to take the Pinwheel phone from them. This reduces conflict with parents monitoring in the background.
A contact safe list – Only contacts on the parent-designated safe list can call or text the device, eliminating the need to worry about spam or stranger communication.
A children-safe app library – Pinwheel offers a library of more than 1,200 popular apps with safety ratings, informing parents when an app allows communication with strangers, has explicit content etc. The app library does not include any social media apps or web browsers.
Schedules for apps and contacts – Parents can set up schedules for when apps and contacts are available on the phone and when they are not such as during school time and overnight.

Available for purchase at https://www.pinwheel.com/en-gb/, Pinwheel is offering up to 15% discount until Christmas on two models – the Samsung Plus 4 (£239 with discount) and the Google Pixel 8a (£479 with discount).

As both phone models work with all the major UK mobile networks, parents can add their children to an existing family plan or choose a different network. A subscription is required to access the parental controls and Caregiver Portal of £13.99 / month or £149.99 / annually.

"Ever since we launched Pinwheel in the U.S. a few years ago, word spread quickly among parents everywhere, including in the UK. We are so excited to finally be able to meet the demand for our phones here," said Dane Witbeck, CEO and Founder of Pinwheel. "We believe our phones give families a way to help children develop healthy habits around digital device usage and screentime without the negative impacts and distractions of social media and open internet access."

A range of high-resolution images can be downloaded from here.

About Pinwheel
Pinwheel www.pinwheel.com is a kid tech company that sells digital devices and services designed specifically for children and teens. The company's best-selling Pinwheel phone provides kids 8-15 with the features and functions they want, like texting, photos and fun apps, along with age-appropriate guardrails (no browser or social media) and parental monitoring tools that encourage healthy technology habits from the start. Unlike adult phones that connect kids to the open internet with confusing and thin parental controls, or other kid phones with very limited functionality and apps, Pinwheel allows parents to customize the settings to meet their child's current needs, then unlock features and more than 1,200 apps as their child grows into an independent young adult who manages technology well. Based in Austin, Texas, Pinwheel was recognized by the Inc. 5000 as one of the United States' fastest growing private companies in 2024.

Media Contact:
Kevin Maxwell for Pinwheel
(e) [email protected]
(m) 07985 351 797

SOURCE Pinwheel