Protection isn't a feature.
It's the design.
Most devices ask you to trust their settings. smalltalk is different: the risky parts of the internet simply aren't in the product.
A closed front door
Your child's contact list starts empty and only you can add to it. Strangers, spam, and unknown numbers never ring through — there's no path in.
Nothing to scroll
No screen means no feed, no videos, no ads, no social media, and no late-night rabbit holes. Talking is the whole product.
You can always see
The app shows you who called, when, and what the phone is doing right now. No mysteries, no hidden activity.
Honest, and kept deliberately short
We collect as little as possible, and we don't promise more than we deliver.
What we do
- Keep the contact list closed — approved people only
- Let you delete call history whenever you like
- Delete call records automatically after 90 days
- Store only what the service needs to work
- Follow Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA)
What we never do
- No ads — ever, anywhere
- No social media, feeds, or recommendations
- No apps or downloads on the phone
- No GPS — the phone can't track location, and we won't pretend it can
- No promises we can't keep — if it's not listed here, just ask us
An important limitation: 911
The smalltalk base plan cannot call 911 or any other public emergency number. It runs on our private kidgrid network, which by design has no connection to the public phone network — that's part of what keeps strangers out, but it also means emergency services can't be reached from this phone.
Please keep another phone that can reach 911 available in your home, and make sure your child knows where it is and how to use it.
Questions about safety?
We'd genuinely rather you ask than wonder. Write to us and a human in Toronto will answer.
Contact us