💬 Chatbots and assistants · 📱 Kids' phones, watches, tablets and speakers · 🛡️ Parental controls and family safety
Pinwheel phone
By Pinwheel. Visit Pinwheel phone
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
Android phones (Samsung, Motorola, Pixel) and a smartwatch with Pinwheel's kid system installed. Only safelisted numbers can call or text, there is no social media or browser by default, and parents pick apps from a library of 1,000+ rated apps, opening Google Play later if they choose. Parents read texts remotely, set schedules that turn the phone into a 'dumb phone' at school, and see location. Kids can also use PinwheelAsk, a filtered AI chatbot that parents can monitor.
Our take: Good for families who want a real smartphone with tight, adjustable rules; parents who prefer no AI chat should keep PinwheelAsk off.
| Ages it suits | first phone through older teens |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Account holders must be at least 18; a parent or caregiver must set up the Caregiver Portal before a child can use a Pinwheel device or PinwheelGPT. (terms) |
| Price | Paid. Pinwheel Wireless $29.99 a month or $284.99 a year; Caregiver Portal only (own carrier) $17.99 a month or $174.99 a year; Pinwheel Watch $14.99 a month; phone bought separately (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | A device, Android |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | PinwheelAsk (PinwheelGPT) is a filtered AI chatbot for kids whose conversations parents can read. |
What's good
- Safelist blocks strangers and spam
- Schedules for school and night
- Controls for co-parents with different permissions
- Grows from locked-down to Google Play
Watch for
- Parents can read every text
- AI chatbot conversations are stored
- Monthly fee plus the cost of the phone
- Google Play access widens what kids can reach
Data and privacy
Pinwheel collects call history, text messages and images, app use, GPS location, PinwheelGPT conversation history and routine 'sentiment' data, stored in the US on AWS. It says it does not use children's data for ads or sell personal information. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
The maker's own claims only; no independent study found.
In the Big Index
- On the list Top 10 setups for a child who wants an AI to answer their questions
- On the list 8 kid-friendly AI chatbots and exactly how to set each up
- On the list 9 tablet and phone setups for kids in the AI era
- On the list 12 AI tutors for kids, compared (with each one's age rules)
- On the list 11 "kid-safe" AI chatbots and assistants, and what kid-safe really means for each
- On the list 15 best tablets and devices for kids who learn
- PinwheelAsk (formerly PinwheelGPT)
- Pinwheel
- Pinwheel vs Troomi
- The maker in the who's who: Pinwheel
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.pinwheel.com/
- https://www.pinwheel.com/phones
- https://www.pinwheel.com/privacypolicy
- https://www.pinwheel.com/termsofservice
- https://www.pinwheel.com/ask
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.