Why Scribbles is free

I’m a parent of five kids. At some point, every one of them asked for the same thing: a way to talk to their friends.

That’s a fair thing to want. But every option I tried came with a compromise I didn’t want to make. A phone number, and a phone to go with it. Social apps with strangers, feeds, and ads. Messaging apps built for adults, where I couldn’t see who my kids were talking to, or when. Or the option I used most: saying no, and watching them feel left out.

What I wanted was simple to describe. My kids chat with friends I’ve approved, whose parents have approved them back. It goes to sleep at bedtime and during school. I can read along when I need to, and something quietly tells me when a conversation needs a grown-up. And it works on the tablets and old laptops already in our house.

I couldn’t find it, so I built it. Scribbles started as our family’s app, and my kids use it every day.

Why it’s free

Once it worked for us, keeping it to ourselves felt wrong. A chat app only works if your kid’s friends are on it too, so every family that joins makes it better for everyone already on it. That’s why I opened it up.

The catch (there isn’t one)

No ads. We never sell or share your family’s data. No paid tier hiding behind the safety features. Scribbles doesn’t make money off your kids’ attention.