We certify devices that meet the Startphone Standard — our checklist for child-friendly tech.
Unlike a standard smartphone, a startphone is limited by design. Calling and messaging, yes. Social media, apps and an open internet, no.
Choose a Startphone-certified device
when your child is ready for a first phone.
Certification is our assessment against the Standard. It is not a guarantee. You decide what fits your child.
⇒ Certified startphones and other child-friendly options.
Want more children to get a better start in the digital world?
The Startphone Standard
The Startphone Standard is our checklist for what a first phone for children under 16 can include — and what it cannot. Built for contact. Not for the functions that belong on an adult smartphone.
A startphone can have:
Kid-First Design
Made for children under 16 who need a phone for contact and getting home — walking from school, checking in with friends.
Regular Phone Calls
Can call anyone, and receive calls from contacts only.
One-to-One Text Messaging
Can send SMS (one person at a time) to anyone, and receive SMS from contacts only.
Voice Messaging
Speak to write, listen to read. Every message is stored as SMS, so it can be followed up if there is bullying or misuse.
Basic Tools
Timer, alarm, stopwatch, flashlight, calendar and notes.
Text-Only Screen
Text, emojis and maps — no games, no apps, no open internet.
Optional Location Sharing
Passive or child-initiated location sharing, and an SOS button, if privacy and use are clearly limited.
Bluetooth Capability
Wireless pairing with headphones or speakers.
Listen to Music
Screen-free Spotify (via SDK), wireless FM radio, or an MP3 player.
The Basic Principle
A first phone should only do what the child needs in order to reach and be reached. Features that open social media, apps or the open internet do not belong on the device. That limit is the manufacturer’s job — not the child’s, and not a full-time job for the parent.
No Social Media
Research links early social media use to increased risks for many children and teens under 16. We believe 16 should be the minimum age for social media, and we advise against smartphones with shortcuts onto those platforms for children under 16.
Constrained Hardware
That is why an ordinary smartphone is not a startphone. Even with parental controls, many children still reach the apps and platforms the Standard is meant to keep out. The answer is not more controls to outsmart. It is hardware that never had that path.
Disqualifying Features
We start from least possible harm: what can the phone do without, so risks to privacy, wellbeing and development fall.
These principles apply to certified startphones:
No Images or Videos
Removes addictive social media features and limits exposure to harmful or explicit content by design.
No Camera
Reduces the risk of privacy violations and unintentional sharing.
No Internet Browsing
Reduces risk of exposure to inappropriate content and unsafe interactions.
No Social Media
Social media is built to maximise the time and attention users spend on it. For children, whose impulse control and sense of consequences are still developing, that is a poor fit.
No Encrypted Chats
Encrypted chat apps make it hard for an adult to help if something goes wrong.
No Games
Reduces distractions and allows the child to focus on offline interactions.
No Open App Store
Only preloaded or whitelisted apps that meet the Startphone Standard.
No Email or File Sharing
Removes paths to bypass safeguards.
No Open Group Chats
Reduces the risk of exclusion, drama and peer pressure. Groups only with parent-approved contacts, administered by the parent.
No AI Chatbots
An unpredictable experiment, and not suitable for minors. Can get in the way of learning real, healthy relationships.
“Once you give your kid a smartphone, 80% of the healthy, normal, necessary activities of childhood drop away, and their life revolves around the phone.”
Jonathan Haidt
Professor, Social Psychologist, and Author
Co-Create the Startphone Standard With Us
Join parents and experts in further developing the Startphone Standard — what a first phone for children under 16 should do, and what it should not.
Designed for Childhood
We want to make it easier to choose a good first phone.
A certified startphone does not have the functions the Startphone Standard does not allow — social media, a browser, an app store. It does not need every function a startphone may have, such as music or SMS.
The list also includes recommended phones that are not certified. Certified products carry the Startphone Certification mark. Products that nearly meet the Standard, and are recommended for that reason, have no mark — and we say why they fall short.
Certified and Recommended Startphones
Find certified startphones and other child-friendly options:
The Startphones of Tomorrow
- A modern, simpler alternative to a smartphone
- Minimizes distraction while simplifying communication
- Plays music from services like Spotify (via SDK integration)
- Built for the future while staying true to the Startphone principles: no images, no group chats, no web browsing, and no AI chatbots
Calling on Mobile Manufacturers to Build the Next Generation Startphone
Do you represent a manufacturer? Apply for review against the Startphone Standard. Devices that meet it can be certified and featured here.
A startphone is a communication tool — not an entertainment device. Music, location or other extras may only exist if they do not give the child a browser, apps or social media. You need to show that before the device is certified.
Startphone.info is not a public authority. The EU has no certification for this kind of children’s phone, so we run the Standard ourselves. To keep that work going, we have affiliate partnerships with products we certify or recommend. Commission does not decide the outcome: a product is listed only if it meets the Startphone Standard fully, or so closely that we can say what is missing.
We are also happy to share what we hear from parents, young people and experts, if it helps you build a device that meets the Standard.