Gabb builds phones and watches for kids that skip the open internet: no web browser, no social media, and no open app store.^1 The Lehi, Utah company sells the devices on its own nationwide wireless network with unlimited talk and text as part of a subscription plan, so a child's first device connects them to family without handing them the whole web.^1
The Gabb Watch 3e is the first step for younger kids, ages 5-12: calling and texting, GPS tracking with Safe Zone alerts, up to 100 parent-approved contacts, speech-to-text, and an SOS button that calls a designated parent contact.^3 Its Gabb Go app pairs a step counter with a virtual pet that rewards time off screens.^3 The Gabb Phone 4, for ages 9-14, carries 16 preloaded apps and no app store: Gabb Messenger with AI-powered content filtering and monitored video calling, Gabb Maps navigation built for kids, spam blocking, and a camera.^4 Contacts on the phone are child-managed by default, with a parent-managed mode parents can turn on, and parents run both devices through the MyGabb app, which handles location, messaging visibility, and settings.^4 Plans come month-to-month or on one- or two-year agreements.^4 Gabb Music, the company's filtered, ad-free streaming service, runs on the Gabb Phone and on any iPhone or Android.^5
Stephen Dalby, a father of eight and a former seminary schoolteacher, founded Gabb in Lehi in 2018, first as Tyndale Technology, after he could not find a phone he felt safe giving his 12-year-old son.^2 Dalby has said: "The great thief of opportunity today is distraction."^7 The company's stated mission is to help parents protect childhood with safer tech, giving kids more independence one step at a time, as parents decide they are ready.^8
SafeWise tester and parent Suzi Brzezinski said of the phone's contact controls: "You can decide what and who goes into the phone. You have control over that so they can't just be dialing out random numbers."^9
