Screenable’s app turns any iPhone into a starter phone for kids

A new app called Screenable will help parents introduce their children to technology by turning an iPhone or iPad into a starter phone. The app is designed to grow over time with a child, as it offers different modes for kids of different ages. 

For starters, the app’s “Dumb Phone” mode essentially turns an iPhone into a classic flip phone, as it only lets kids access the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages apps. While Screenable doesn’t let parents limit who their child talks to, they can use Apple’s parental controls to restrict their interactions to only include specific numbers.

With the Dumb Phone setting, parents can also choose to allow their kids to access other apps if they wish, especially as they grow older.

Screenable’s “Screen Trainer” mode is designed for kids who are starting to transition to independent use of an iPhone or iPad, as it uses a collaborative approach to parental controls. Kids can start using other apps, but parents will still be in the know about their child’s activities via notifications on their own devices that will inform them about the apps their child is using. Parents can also turn on an “Overtime” feature to let their kids practice staying within a specific daily screen time limit. 

Soon, the app will offer a “Social Trainer” mode that will allow parents to slowly introduce their kids to social media. The mode lets parents give their children access to social media apps one at a time. While kids will be able to download any social media app that their parents allow them to, Screenable provides a custom install flow for Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Facebook, BeReal, Tumblr, and Threads. The install flow lets parents set a time limit on the apps and also helps them set up the in-app parental controls for the different social networks.

If a parent wants to allow their child to use a social media app that’s not on this list, Screenable will encourage them to research the service before allowing their child to use it.

In addition, Screenable will provide conversation guides for parents to help them discuss online safety with their children when it comes to social networks.

Screenable is a family-founded startup, as it was created by brothers, Tom and Stevie Clifton, and their wives, Scarlet Clifton and Hannah Kwon. The group came up with the idea after they started thinking about how they were going to introduce technology to their children. 

They looked at what was available on the market, and found that there wasn’t anything out there that worked for them. Tom and Stevie, who previously founded a cloud-based video maker startup called Animoto, decided to create a solution themselves alongside their wives.

“We are pro-technology,” Tom told TechCrunch. “A lot of the approaches of other apps out there are parents needing to lock everything down and not letting their kids have access to anything. And there’s probably some ages and stages where that’s appropriate, but ours is much more of a gradual program that helps them address each stage as they move towards device independence. We want to train our kids and make them able to use technology in a healthy way.”

That’s why the app is called “Screenable,” Tom explained, as the app is designed to help kids be able to use phones and be better equipped with technological knowledge.

Unlike some parental control tools and services that allow parents to monitor their children’s messages, Screenable’s approach isn’t about surveillance, Tom said. 

Screenable operates on a freemium model that lets users access the app’s “Dumb Phone” mode for free because the startup believes that all parents should have access to the tool when first introducing their kids to technology. The app’s other modes can be accessed for a monthly fee of $7. 

The group believes that Screenable will allow parents to make use of old smartphones that they may have lying around their homes when introducing their kids to phones, as opposed to going out and buying an entirely new smartphone.

In terms of the future, the startup believes that there is potential for the app to become a tool for families as a whole to disconnect from technology for a bit. 

“We feel like there’s so many more interesting opportunities for bringing unique experiences into homes where families together can decide to turn their phones into ‘Dumb phones’ for the weekend or for a trip,” Tom said.

He noted that parents have been reaching out to ask if they can download Screenable on their own phones to cut back on their own phone usage, so the startup plans to launch this capability in the future. 

While Tom and Stevie raised over $30 million for their first startup, they’re bootstrapping Screenable, as they want to keep the project small and grow it gradually on their own terms as a family.