SafeinestQuestions & answers
Safeinest FAQ.
Safeinest FAQ for UK parents: honest answers on iPhone message monitoring, stopping app deletion, pairing your child's phone, the bedtime lock, app categories, privacy and GDPR, pricing, and how it compares with Apple Screen Time.
Which phones does Safeinest work on?
Safeinest works on Android and iPhone, with two free apps: Safeinest (the parent app) on your phone, and Safeinest Connect on your child's device — an Android phone, an Android tablet, a Chromebook with the Play Store, or an iPhone (iOS 16 or newer). Both are on Google Play and the App Store. The parent app is the same either way; what differs is enforcement on the child's side — Apple's Screen Time on an iPhone, Safeinest's own pause screen and permissions on Android — and this FAQ says honestly which features belong to which platform.
Can Safeinest read my child's messages?
On an Android child device — yes, in one narrow, honest sense: with your child's agreement, Safeinest Connect checks messages as they ARRIVE, on the device itself, for signs of self-harm, bullying and sexual content. You are sent the category, how serious it looks, the app, and a few redacted words — never the conversation, and the full message never leaves their phone. It reads arriving notifications, so a muted app or what your child types out shows nothing, and detection understands English only for now. On an iPhone — no, and never claimed: Apple does not allow any third-party app to read a child's messages, and anyone claiming to read iPhone messages is misleading you.
Can my child delete the Safeinest app?
No app can make its own deletion impossible, and Safeinest is honest about that — but there is now a real, visible step in the way on Android. With 'Lock app removal' on, your child can agree to a removal lock: uninstalling Safeinest then first needs that lock deactivated in the device's Settings, and you are told the moment it is. On an iPhone the real lock is a Screen Time passcode: in the child's iOS Settings, go to Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, and set 'Deleting Apps' to 'Don't Allow', protected by a passcode only you know. On both platforms the child's app also shows a 'please ask first' message and hides the Disconnect button while the lock is on.
How do I pair my child's phone with Safeinest?
Pairing takes a couple of minutes, and the steps are the same on Android, Chromebook and iPhone. Install the Safeinest parent app on your phone and the Safeinest Connect app on your child's device. In your parent app, tap Pairing code on the child's card to show a QR code (and a short typed code as the fallback). On the child's device, open Safeinest Connect and scan the QR. Once accepted, the two are linked. Two more one-time steps on the child's device finish the job: turn on the protection permission — Screen Time on an iPhone, the Pause screen (and optionally App blocking) on Android — and use the App categories card to tell Safeinest which of their apps count as Games, Social and so on. That second step is what makes your category blocks real — without it, ticking Games in your app will not block anything.
How does the bedtime lock work?
The bedtime lock lets you choose a nightly window — for example 8pm to 7am — during which the child's apps are put to rest. You set the hours once in the parent app. At each edge of the window our server rings the child's device with a silent wake-up tuned to its own clock, so bedtime normally starts and ends within a minute or two, app open or not. We stay honest about the small print: that ring is a push which can occasionally be delayed or dropped, and the one guarantee is the Safeinest Connect app checking every 15 seconds while it is open — so if a bedtime looks late, having your child open the app once applies it straight away. Once a rest is applied it stays applied, through app-switching, force-quit and a restart. On an iPhone, pairing bedtime with a Screen Time passcode is what makes it tamper-proof.
What are app categories in Safeinest?
Instead of blocking apps one by one, Safeinest lets you allow or block whole categories at once. The categories are Social, Games, Video, Entertainment, Web, and Messaging. For example, you can block Social and Games during school hours while keeping Messaging available. One thing worth knowing: nobody can decide for you which apps count as what, so during a quick one-time setup on the child's device you tell Safeinest. On an iPhone that opens Apple's own chooser — tick the whole Games row and newly installed games are covered as they arrive. On Android it opens Safeinest's own picker of the device's real apps, with a search box — a brand-new app is in no kind until someone adds it. A category with nothing ticked blocks nothing, and the parent app tells you if one is still empty.
Is Safeinest free?
Yes, today — all four apps are free to download on Google Play and the App Store, and everything is free to use while we launch. Small family plans are switching on soon: 0.99, 1.49 or 1.99 a month in your own currency — 99p in the UK, ₨99 in Pakistan, ₹99 in India — covering up to 3, up to 7, or unlimited child devices on one plan for the whole family. The first 1,000 families get 3 months free, and after the launch offer every new family starts with a 7-day free trial. Billing happens through the App Store or Google Play (we never see your card), you can cancel any time in your store settings — and the child's app is never the thing you pay for.
Does Safeinest work without the child's cooperation?
Partly, but be realistic: enforcement is cooperative, not absolute, on both platforms. On an iPhone, Safeinest applies your rules through Apple Screen Time, which can be switched off in the child's Settings unless a Screen Time passcode protects it — that passcode is what makes iPhone rules genuinely stick. On Android, the pause works through permissions on the child's device, which the child can also switch off in Settings. Safeinest's answer is honesty at speed: it enforces, and it TELLS you — protection switched off, message safety switched off, the removal lock deactivated, fewer apps covered, a phone gone quiet. Rules work best alongside a conversation, not instead of one.
How do I set Safeinest up so my child can't turn it off?
On an iPhone, the key is a Screen Time passcode that only you know. Open Settings, go to Screen Time, and set a passcode the child does not have; for the strongest setup, add the child's phone to your Apple Family, turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions and set 'Deleting Apps' to 'Don't Allow'. On Android there is no passcode equivalent for the permission switches — instead, turn on 'Lock app removal' and have your child agree to the removal lock (uninstalling then needs a deliberate extra step you hear about), and rely on the tamper alerts: Safeinest tells you straight away if protection, message safety or the removal lock is switched off, if the covered list shrinks, or if the phone goes quiet.
Does Safeinest track my child's location?
Only if you switch it on. Live location is off by default and you turn it on per child; their phone asks permission once. We keep only the latest position, encrypted — no history of where they have been unless you also switch on the optional 24-hour trail, which keeps at most one day and deletes itself as it ages — and switching the toggle off again stops sharing and clears what was stored. You can also draw safe zones around school or home and be told when your child arrives or leaves — or mark a place as a no-go area, and be told the moment they enter it. For updates while the Kids app is closed, their phone needs the Always location permission; with While Using, the position simply stops refreshing and the last-seen time shows you how fresh it is. This is the only location data Safeinest holds, and the default is off, in line with data minimisation and the UK's Children's Code.
Is Safeinest private and GDPR compliant?
Privacy is built in. Safeinest is designed around UK GDPR and the ICO Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code), using data minimisation throughout. It stores the child's age rather than a date of birth, and an alias rather than a legal name. Data is encrypted at rest. Message safety alerts (from Android devices) carry only a short, redacted preview — at most about 120 characters, trimmed on the child's device — never the conversation, and alerts delete themselves after 90 days. On an iPhone there are no message-based alerts at all, because Apple gives no app access to another app's messages. Live location is off by default, per child, and by default only the latest position is kept.
How is Safeinest different from Apple Screen Time?
Safeinest is designed to be simpler and more parent-friendly than raw platform controls, and to work across a mixed family. Rather than navigating menus on each device, you set rules once in the parent app and they apply to the paired child device: app categories, a bedtime window, school hours, focus presets, timed blocks, an instant block-now, a whole-day screen-time allowance and per-app daily limits (Android). It also adds what the platforms don't have — message safety alerts from an Android device, a screen-time report on your own phone (from Android devices), earn-time tasks, a two-way family chat and voice calls that keep working while other apps are paused, a family SOS, extra-time requests, opt-in live location with safe zones, and tamper alerts. On an iPhone it relies on Apple's Screen Time underneath, so a Screen Time passcode remains what makes iPhone rules truly stick.
What is the block-now feature?
Block-now is a control in the parent app that pauses your child's apps straight away — useful at mealtimes, homework, or family moments. You tap it once and their device applies the block, normally within seconds and even with the kids app closed: through Apple Screen Time on an iPhone, or Safeinest's own calm pause screen on Android. If their device is off or offline, the block lands the moment it is back in touch. Lift it whenever you are ready. It works alongside your longer-term rules like app categories and the bedtime lock.
What happens when my child tries to delete Safeinest or asks to remove it?
With 'Lock app removal' on, your child cannot quietly walk away. On an iPhone they see a gentle 'please ask a parent first' message with an 'Ask to remove' button that sends you a request — a nudge, not a hard block, so to truly stop removal set a Screen Time passcode and turn off 'Deleting Apps' in Content & Privacy Restrictions. On Android, if they agreed to the removal lock, uninstalling first needs that lock deactivated in Settings — and the moment it is deactivated you get a 'Removal lock switched off' notification, so even the attempt reaches you. On both platforms the Disconnect button is hidden while the lock is on, and unlinking needs your approval.
What do I need before I start with Safeinest?
You need your own phone and your child's device. The parent app, Safeinest, goes on your phone — free on Google Play and on the App Store. The free Safeinest Connect app goes on your child's device: an Android phone, an Android tablet or a Chromebook from Google Play, or an iPhone (iOS 16 or newer) from the App Store. Have both to hand for the first setup so you can scan the pairing QR code and turn on the protection permissions on the child's device. For the strongest protection on a child's iPhone, also set a Screen Time passcode that only you know.
What else can Safeinest do besides blocking apps?
Quite a lot, and all of it is in the apps today. You can set school hours with their own app categories, use one-tap focus presets for homework, dinner or sleep, and set a timed block for 30 minutes, 1, 2 or 5 hours. On an Android child you can also set a whole-day screen-time allowance and per-app daily limits, and see today's screen time and a 7-day report. You can write earn-time tasks your child completes for extra minutes, and approve their extra-time requests. There is a two-way family chat and in-app voice calls that keep working while other apps are paused, plus a family SOS button. Live location is opt-in per child, with safe zones, an optional 24-hour trail, and tell-me-if-they-don't-arrive deadlines. And Safeinest tells you if protection, message safety or the removal lock is switched off, if fewer apps are covered, if more apps are set to always-allowed, if a phone is disconnected or asks to remove the app, or if a phone has not been heard from for two days.
How do I get help or contact Safeinest?
You can reach the Safeinest team by email at hello@safeinest.com for questions about setup, pairing, or your family's account. Safeinest is a family-safety product built in the UK by a small team and used by families around the world, so your feedback genuinely shapes the app. If you have a concern about a child's immediate safety, contact your local emergency services or a child-safety helpline (in the UK: Childline 0800 1111, NSPCC 0808 800 5000) rather than waiting for an email reply.
Can I see what my child looks at online?
In the Safeinest Browser, yes — fully and openly. The kids app has a built-in browser with SafeSearch forced; you see every page it visits (kept 30 days, then deleted) and can block any website, which your child meets as a calm page saying you blocked it. The browser tells your child plainly that you can see these pages — nothing about it is secret. Honesty about the rest: no app can see inside other apps’ built-in browsers, and on an iPhone no app can read another browser’s history at all. To make the Safeinest Browser the only door to the web, block the Web category in Limits.