MWC: Irish firm Zyalin unveils ‘kid-safe’ phone

Irish-based firm develops phone that parents can control remotely

The iKydz smartphone
The iKydz smartphone

Irish-based tech company Zyalin has developed a child-friendly smart phone that aims to keep young children and teenagers safe online.

The firm, which worked with Transsion Holdings on the iKydz Tecno and Infinix smartphones, unveiled the phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The phones are linked to a parent app that can be used to restrict time spent online, block unsuitable content and manage access to social media apps.

It can also be used to monitor viewing history, even when the child has deleted their browsing history, and see how long children are spending online. Location services can be used on the phone to locate the child, or enable geofencing on the phone.

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The iKydz technology is embedded in the phone, which means it cannot be tampered with.

The phones will initially launch in the Middle East, African and the Asia Pacific market, priced up to $220 and available for use on any network.

"Zyalin is a business founded to tackle some of the many technical issues around child online safety," chief executive John Molloy said. "Our kid-safe phones can be used anywhere in the world and controlled by parents or guardians remotely from any location. It's the solution that every concerned parent has been looking for."

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist