The device belongs to the parents
Kidharbor takes full ownership of the child's device. No reset, no bypass, no uninstall by the child – parents can change anything at any time.
For parents · schools · municipalities · Android & Windows
The safe harbour for a child's first phone.
Kidharbor anchors protection so deeply in your child's smartphone that it cannot be bypassed. An AI spots bullying, threats and suspicious strangers in chats and on the web and reports to you – the AI reads, not the parents. You control everything from a simple app, even by voice message if you like.
14-day free trial · One plan for the whole family · Developed in Switzerland
Explained in 60 seconds
Kidharbor in one minute.
What Kidharbor is, what it promises and what it costs – in short.
Language: German, with German subtitles. An English version will follow.
What it's about
The first phone arrives – and so do the questions.
At some point every child gets their first smartphone, usually between the ages of 10 and 14. From that moment on, parents and schools face the same questions: How much screen time is healthy? Which apps are suitable? How do you prevent unwanted costs? And above all: How do you protect the child from what happens in messengers and social networks – bullying, threats, inappropriate content, contact with strangers? Today, violence rarely starts in the playground. It starts in the chat.
Kidharbor is different. It anchors protection so deeply in the device that the child cannot remove or bypass it. An AI watches what happens in messengers and in the browser and tells parents when something is wrong – as an assessment, not as a chat log. Parents control everything from a simple app on their own phone.
What Kidharbor promises
Six promises to parents.
Time, apps and chores
Total time per day, time per app, time windows, bedtime. Every new app needs a yes from the parents. And with chores, the child can earn screen time.
The AI reads, not the parents
A protection agent detects bullying, threats, drugs, violence, sexual content and suspicious strangers in chats and on the web – and reports to the parents. Without reading along.
No purchase without the parents
In-app purchases are stopped and submitted for approval – and none goes unnoticed.
Swiss product
Developed in Switzerland. Everything concerning the child is checked by a Swiss provider in a Swiss data centre. No sharing of children's data.
Simple – even by voice message
A wizard guides you step by step through setup. After that, you just tell the Kidharbor assistant what you want – and it gets done.
How it works
Eight steps to a safe harbour.
Set up
Parents download the Kidharbor Parent App and create their family. A wizard guides them step by step through the setup – built for parents who are not technicians. The child's device is reset once and scans a QR code from the Parent App; this anchors Kidharbor firmly in the device. A second parent joins by invitation.
From then on the child sees a tidy home screen with exactly the apps that are approved and a fixed dock with Phone, Contacts, Browser and Messages. The child may arrange its apps itself. Parents get a maintenance PIN that gives them full access to the device at any time.
Time and rules
- Total time per day and time per app, e.g. YouTube 20 minutes, 90 minutes in total.
- Time windows for weekdays and weekends.
- Bedtime: device locked, phone and emergency calls remain available.
- Instant actions: +20 minutes Lock now Allow until 7 pm – take effect within seconds.
- Requests: The child asks for "more time" – for a specific app or in total, 10 to 60 minutes. Parents decide with a tap.
Chores, earned time and reminders
Chores: Parents create tasks with a value in minutes – tidy the bedroom, walk the dog, sport. The child marks it "done", the parents confirm, the time is credited. If you like, run the model "0 minutes base, every minute earned": motivate instead of forbid – and fewer arguments about the phone.
Reminders: Homework, training, dentist, exam. Set by the parents or created by the child itself – they appear directly on the child's device.
Apps and purchases
The Play Store stays open. When the child downloads an app, it initially lands in the background and cannot be used. Parents receive a message ("Robin installed Roblox – approve?") and approve the app – with a time budget right away if they wish.
Purchase attempts in games and apps are stopped and reported to the parents. Should a purchase go through in the background (e.g. a subscription renewal), parents are informed immediately – with app, amount and time.
Chat and web protection
The AI reads, not the parents. On the child's device, a protection agent watches what arrives in messengers and what happens in the browser. If it detects bullying, threats, drugs, violent or sexual content, or strangers with suspicious intentions, it reports this to the parents – as an assessment, not as a chat log. Everything else stays private.
- Web protection: Porn, violence, gambling, drug and weapon sites are blocked by a DNS filter – in all apps, and the child cannot switch it off.
- In case of clear danger the agent intervenes itself, blocks a site or app – and tells the parents what it did and why. The parents then decide: allow, block completely, talk to the child.
- No reading along. Parents see no chats – they are in the know without reading. The child knows this protection is there.
Insight, SOS and help
- SOS button on the child's device: all parents are alerted immediately with an alarm tone – including location.
- Help page with 147, 143 and other contact points outside the family, always available – plus a confidential chat where the child can get help.
- Activity overview: which app was used when and for how long, history of the last few days.
- Watch along: parents can see the child's screen live – for instance when a child does not dare to show a distressing situation.
- Location – can be enabled per child.
Kidharbor assistant for parents
If you don't want to click through menus, just say it: "My son may use YouTube 20 minutes a day, WhatsApp only until 8 pm – and please lock everything now." The assistant understands voice and text messages, applies the rules and briefly confirms. Before intrusive actions it asks for confirmation. Every change is traceable in the app.
Kids assistant
The child has its own age-appropriate assistant on its phone for homework and questions. It knows no adult topics, opens no external links and makes no purchases. If a child talks about bullying, fear or strangers, it responds empathetically, encourages talking to parents or a teacher and shows the way to help. Parents can view the conversations – the child knows this.
Our stance
Protection, not spying.
Kidharbor is a protection tool, not a surveillance instrument. The child's device shows that Kidharbor is active, and an info page explains to the child what parents can see. The child knows that parents can look – not when they do. It is like a bike helmet: visible, understandable, and eventually taken for granted.
Nobody reads the chats – the AI reads, not the parents. Parents learn when something happens, not what their child writes to their best friend. For older children, Kidharbor recommends less insight and more personal responsibility; the settings grow with them.
Privacy – honestly
- Content checks in Switzerland. Chat and web analysis as well as voice notes run with a Swiss provider in a Swiss data centre.
- Production system in Switzerland. We are in the pilot phase; the production system is located in Switzerland.
- No chat logs for parents. What is stored is the assessment, not the chat. Otherwise, by default only usage times per app – no content.
- Screen snapshots or location can be enabled per child, are kept only briefly and are deleted with the child profile.
- Voice output and parent assistant: For these functions we use models from the USA during the launch phase for quality reasons – not for the safety checks of children's content. Goal: everything local in Switzerland.
- Kidharbor complies with the Swiss Data Protection Act and the GDPR. No sharing of children's data.
Comparison
Parental control, surveillance app – or Kidharbor?
There are two kinds of products for a child's phone on the market: classic parental control apps and so-called surveillance apps that secretly read chats and photos. Kidharbor is deliberately neither.
| Parental control, surveillance app – or Kidharbor? | Parental control app | Surveillance app | Kidharbor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can the child remove or bypass it? | Yes – uninstall, factory reset, safe mode | Yes, as soon as it is discovered | No – anchored in the device |
| Does the child know about it? | Usually yes | No – hides on purpose | Yes – visible, with an info page for the child |
| What is collected? | Usage, location, often browsing history | Everything: chats, photos, keystrokes | By default only usage times per app |
| Chat and web protection | Age filter | Reads everything | AI detects dangers and reports them – parents don't read along |
| Where is the data stored? | Usually USA | Often Asia, unclear | Switzerland (children's content), Swiss data protection |
| New apps and purchases | Age filter | No control | Every app and every purchase needs a yes from the parents |
For schools, municipalities and organisations
Prevention not just in a brochure, but on the child's device.
Kidharbor works as a concrete recommendation for the first phone at parents' evenings – and for day schools, schools with loan devices and childcare facilities. A pilot starts with a conversation and 5–10 families. We send our dossier for schools, municipalities and organisations on request: hello@kidharbor.app
- Recommendation for the first phone: Kidharbor as the school's or municipality's recommendation at the parents' evening – with uniform rules on screen time and messengers for the whole class.
- Pilot with 5–10 families: 30-minute conversation, set up together, evaluate after 8 weeks – what helps, what is missing.
- Loan devices under control: Every device has exactly the apps needed for lessons. Nothing else can be installed or used.
- Lesson times instead of bedtimes: time windows per class or group, lock at the push of a button during exams.
- Clear responsibility: teachers or carers approve apps; parents can be involved if desired.
- Dossier on request: headlines from Switzerland, our stance on AI in child protection, all features, privacy and costs – request the PDF at hello@kidharbor.app.
Offer
One plan. All features. The whole family.
14-day free trialFamily plan
CHF 14.90
per month, per family
- All features, all children – not per child
- Child device: Android phone and tablet, Windows PC (in preparation)
- Parent App for Android and iPhone
- Time rules, app approvals, purchase protection
- Chores with earned time, reminders
- Chat and web protection by Swiss AI
- SOS button with location, help page
- Kidharbor assistant for parents (voice and text)
- Kids assistant on every child device
- Second parent by invitation
Kidharbor is not free: every chat check and every assistant answer costs computing power. Annual plan with discount. For pilot partners (schools, municipalities, organisations) we discuss conditions individually. A charity programme for municipalities with voucher codes is planned. Prices in CHF incl. VAT, subject to change until market launch.
The technology in one paragraph
Kidharbor runs on Android smartphones and tablets as a so-called Device Owner – the highest management level Android grants an app. It is otherwise only used in professional device management for companies and is the reason why Kidharbor cannot be bypassed. The Parent App is available for Android; the iPhone version is in preparation and coming soon to the App Store. The child's Windows laptop or PC can be included with the same time budget (in preparation). Chat and web checks run with a Swiss provider in a Swiss data centre.
Supported devices
- Parent App: Android and iPhone (iPhone version in preparation, coming soon to the App Store)
- Child device: Android smartphones and tablets
- Child's Windows laptop or PC can be included, shared time budget (in preparation)
- Several children, second parent by invitation
Why no iPhone for the child?
- Apple gives third parties no access to chat content
- No real device ownership by the parents
- Locks can be bypassed by the child
This level of protection is currently not possible for anyone on iPhone, iPad and Mac – it would require approvals from Apple. Our recommendation for the first phone: Android.
Roadmap
Where we are – and where we're heading.
Pilot
Everything runs on Android: time rules, chores, reminders, chat and web protection, SOS, parent and kids assistant, push notifications. With selected families, schools and municipalities.
Market launch
Parent App in the App Store (iPhone), the child's Windows PC, public market launch.
Expansion
Language model entirely in Switzerland, charity programme for municipalities, more languages and regions.
Read more
Whitepaper: The first smartphone – safe, but not surveilled.
Why existing parental controls fail, how Kidharbor anchors protection in the device – and where its limits are. Five pages for parents, school leaders and anyone who wants the details.
Download the whitepaperInterested in a pilot?
We are looking for families, schools, municipalities and organisations that want to be the first to use and shape Kidharbor. Drop us a short line about who you are and how old your child is – we'll get back to you personally.