The Pinwheel smartphone offers helpful guardrails around usage and functionality related to apps, contacts, and usage schedules (further described below). This helps parents/guardians set boundaries for the phone upfront so they don’t have to negotiate every time their child wants more time, or later access.
The Pinwheel phone uses a modified smartphone operating system on a standard smartphone device. It’s designed to be kid-safe but also can grow in functionality as the child gets older and more mature. Having a phone with a custom operating system designed for kids is a safer option than adding a “parent app” to an open phone.
The modified Android operating system works much like a standard Android operating system in terms of managing things like settings and notifications. However, it has no internet browser and no social media. Contacts and text messages are managed by a parent’s pinwheel dashboard app. Parents have the choice to allow pictures per contact. Contacts can be marked as an emergency contact. Apps are added through the parent’s Pinwheel dashboard available in Play or Apple Stores. Apps are scored by therapists for potential risks. Google Play can be added and managed, but it exposes some risks. Kids still have to seek approval for apps when installed through Play Store. Pinwheel has custom scheduling which allows block-out times and allows emergency contacts to ring through.
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