Pinwheel is a family of purpose-built phones, a standalone kids' smartwatch, and a screen-free home phone. Children get calling, texting, a camera, and a curated app library, without social media, an open web browser, or stranger contact.^1 Dane Witbeck founded Pinwheel in 2019.^3 Parents use the Caregiver Portal on iPhone or Android to approve every contact, choose from more than 1,200 screened apps, schedule when contacts and apps are available, monitor texts, and see GPS location.^2^5 Multiple caregivers can share settings between homes.^1
The phones are Genesis 4, Slim 6, and Plus 6, on Samsung and Motorola hardware.^6 The Pinwheel Watch is a standalone GPS watch with approved-contact calls, texts, and optional parent-monitored AI chat.^7 Pinwheel Home is a Wi-Fi landline that ships as the compact Spark and the retro Classic; homes can call one another on Pinwheel Circle, and churches, schools, and teams can place group orders.^8 PinwheelGPT is a kid-safe ChatGPT-powered chat app parents can monitor. It is freemium and works beyond Pinwheel hardware.^9 Phone and watch service is subscription-based. Pinwheel serves families in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.^3
