Typical messaging apps
- ✕ People can be added from anywhere
- ✕ Invite links and suggested contacts
- ✕ Algorithms deciding what kids see
- ✕ Images and videos can be sent by default
- ✕ Safety settings parents must manage
Safe messaging for kids
Safe chat for real-life friends.
- Nobody can add your child remotely
- No photos or videos
- Links are blocked
- Parents can see every conversation
Tuck is limited on purpose. Kids' safety and parents' peace of mind come first.
🦊
Hi Ada
⚽️
Bensee you at school!
🦄
Miayayyy 🥳
🚀
Noahwanna build the volcano?
✓ Connected in person
👀 Mum can see this
Built by parents who wanted a safe place for their kids to chat to their real-life friends, without opening the door to social media.
Why Tuck
Most messaging apps start open, then expect parents to lock them down. Tuck starts closed.
Connecting is deliberately harder, because keeping kids safe matters more than helping an app grow faster.
Tuck
- ✓ Every connection is made in person
- ✓ No remote requests or invite links
- ✓ Parents approve every connection
- ✓ Images and videos cannot be sent
- ✓ Parents can see every conversation
Step 1 · Connect
Before they can chat on Tuck, they have to meet in person.
Two children stand together. One shows a code and the other scans it. That's the only way they can connect. No usernames to look up, no invite links to share and no requests from people they haven't met.
- Codes are short-lived, so a screenshot is useless
- Grown-ups can do the handshake too, for the school gate
Stand next to your friend
⏱ Expires in a couple of minutes
✓ Ada & Ben scanned
Step 2 · Approve
If the kids connect themselves, both families have to approve it.
A parent from each family gets an approval request. The children cannot message each other until both families have said yes. Either family can stop the connection at any time.
- One parent from each family needs to approve
- Either family can stop the chat whenever they choose
🦊
Ada wants to connectwith Ben
You'll both need to approve before they can message.
✓ You approved
Step 3 · See
They can chat. You can see every conversation.
Kids get a bright, friendly space to talk to their friends. Parents can read every conversation and see a simple activity feed showing new connections and anything Tuck has blocked.
Links and blocked language are stopped before they reach the other child.
- Read every conversation at any time
- Links and blocked language are never delivered
- See new connections and blocked attempts in one clear feed
!
Ada's message was blocked for language"what the hell"
🔗
Ada's message was blocked because it contained a linkroblox.com
✓
A new connection opened for Ada
! Blocked before it was sent
And one more thing
The line home is always open.
Friends have to connect face to face. But your child can message you from the moment Tuck is set up. Because home should never be hard to reach.
- A trusted grown-up is their first Tuck contact
- No code or approval needed for family
A
MumGrown-up
Hi Ada! Home by 5? Love you x
yes! see you soon 🚴
✓ Always reachable
Tuck gives kids a safe place to chat with real friends.
It's not built to get them hooked.
That means leaving out the features other apps use to encourage more sharing, more scrolling and more time on screen.
No friend requests
Nobody can search for, discover or add your child remotely.
No links
Links are blocked before they can be sent.
No photos or videos
Kids can only send text and emojis.
Parents see and control everything
See every conversation and stop any connection at any time.
The rules are strict. The experience isn't.
Tuck is tightly controlled and deliberately limited. That's the point. But for kids, it should simply feel warm, friendly and entirely their own: a small place to talk with only the people they know.
FAQ
Questions parents ask.
Can strangers contact my child?
No. There are no usernames to search, remote friend requests or invite links.
To connect, two devices must be together in person. If children make the connection themselves, a parent from each family must approve it before they can chat.
Can parents connect children themselves?
Yes. Parents can connect their children's accounts while they are together in person, for example at the school gate or during a playdate.
When parents make the connection, there is no separate approval process for the children to complete.
Why does Tuck make connecting deliberately difficult?
Because easy growth is not the goal.
Tuck requires an in-person connection and, where children connect themselves, approval from both families. That extra effort helps keep each child's circle small, known and controlled.
Can I remove someone from my child's contacts?
Yes. A parent can stop a connection at any time.
Once stopped, the children can no longer message each other through Tuck.
Why wouldn't I just use iMessage and Apple's parental controls?
You absolutely can. Apple's parental controls are comprehensive, but they can also involve a lot of settings, permissions and ongoing management.
Tuck takes a different approach. It is deliberately limited and tightly controlled from the start, so there is much less for parents to configure or keep checking.
How is Tuck different from Messenger Kids?
Messenger Kids is still part of the wider Meta ecosystem. For some parents, the concern is not simply whether it has parental controls, but whether they want their child's first messaging experience connected to a company and product family built around social media.
Tuck takes a deliberately different path. There are no feeds, algorithms, adverts or engagement features designed to keep children coming back. It is simply a small, parent-controlled place for children to message people they know in real life.
Can children send photos or videos?
No. Tuck only allows simple text and emoji messages.
Removing photo and video sharing reduces the risk of inappropriate content, unwanted screenshots and pressure to share things children may later regret.
Can children send links?
No. Links are blocked before they can be sent.
That means children cannot be directed from a Tuck conversation to an unknown website, video, download or social media profile.
Does Tuck allow group chats?
No.
Group chats can quickly become difficult for children, with exclusion, pile-ons and arguments spreading through a larger group. So on Tuck, friends only ever chat one-to-one.
It is another part of our "limited on purpose" philosophy.
Can we chat as a family?
Yes. Family is the one connection that is already made.
Your child can message you one-to-one, and the whole family can talk together in a single family group chat. Brothers and sisters are connected automatically — there is no code to scan and no approval needed, because you are all already one family.
It is the one place a group conversation makes sense on Tuck: a small, parent-included space, not a peer group.
Can parents see their child's conversations?
Yes. Parents can see every conversation their child has on Tuck.
Tuck is designed for younger children taking their first steps into messaging, so parental visibility is built in rather than hidden behind a collection of settings.
Is Tuck social media?
No. Tuck has no public profiles, feeds, follower counts, suggested contacts or algorithms deciding what children see.
It is private messaging for people children already know in real life.
Why is Tuck so limited?
Because every extra feature creates another way for something to go wrong.
Tuck leaves out group chats, links, photos, videos, remote friend requests and public discovery on purpose. Children still get a warm, friendly place to talk. Parents get much greater peace of mind.
Coming to the App Store.
Tuck is in the final stretch of App Store review. It'll be free for iPhone and iPad — check back any day now.