Kids In Touch
Training wheels for texting.
- Years
- 2013–2017
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android
- Customers
- 16,000+ in 38 countries
- My Role
- All of it: the idea, the design, both apps, the server, the website, billing and support
- Status
- Closed December 31, 2017
The Problem
Young kids want to stay in touch with friends and family, but most parents aren’t ready to hand them a real phone. In 2013 there was nothing in between.
What I Built
- Kids text only the families their parents have invited, nobody else.
- Parents can read their children’s messages.
- Every family member has a secret PIN, so one shared iPad or iPod Touch works for the whole family.
- Apps for iOS and Android, the server behind them, the subscription billing and the website.
Military Families
In 2015 I made Kids In Touch free for every military family and partnered with Our Military Kids, so children could keep texting a parent who was deployed. As a Navy veteran, that one mattered to me.
Why It Ended
In December 2016 I stopped new sign-ups, and the service closed for good a year later, so no family lost touch overnight. I wrote about it plainly at the time:
I failed at marketing.
From my shutdown post, December 2016
What It Means for Your Project
I’ve built the whole thing before: apps on two platforms, the server, payments, support, and the hard decision at the end. I also learned that building it is half the job. When I build for you, we plan from day one how people will find it and start using it.