Dear readers, do you have a child who’s about to reach ‘mobile phone age’? Or does your child already use a mobile phone and messaging apps, but you’re somehow unhappy about it because it all seems a bit too risky? One thing is clear: our children are growing up with digital media; they want to chat with their friends and stay in touch.
But it’s also clear that cybergrooming is a huge danger. A study by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia states that 24 per cent of all 8- to 18-year-olds have been contacted online by an unknown adult and asked to meet up. 15 per cent received nude images unsolicited. Around 20 per cent came into contact with sexual content – without wanting to.
We keep hearing from you that you’d like to use alternatives to the major messaging providers – but you’re not quite sure which ones are actually better (and aren’t just superficially child-safe…)
Today we’re introducing you to Ping – Ping is a messaging app specifically for children aged 6 to 12. Children can only message contacts approved by their parents – no public profiles, no search function, no adverts, no data sales, and no phone numbers for children. Developed and hosted in Germany – by Denis, whom we asked here about everything you need to know about Ping.
Dear Denis, what made you decide to develop your own messenger?
I’ve been developing digital products for over 25 years – but the inspiration for Ping was entirely personal. When my daughter reached the age where she wanted to message her grandparents and school friends, I looked for a suitable app. And I couldn’t find anything that fit the bill.
WhatsApp was out of the question for me: too open, problematic in terms of data protection, and you need a phone number. Signal is privacy-friendly, but it’s not designed for children either and also requires a phone number. I even installed Threema briefly, but ultimately that’s an app for adults, not for a child.
So I developed Ping. An app I can give to my daughter with a clear conscience and one that I, as a father, would have wanted.
Where and exactly how is Ping safer for kids?
With Ping, security isn’t an afterthought, but built in from the start. It is structurally impossible for a stranger to contact your child. There are no public profiles, no user search and no way of being found via a phone number. New contacts are either added by the children themselves – via QR code when they are together – or by parents directly within the app. Children can only connect with other children themselves.
Parents approve every single contact before messaging is possible. They also decide which features their child is allowed to use: whether photos can be shared, whether voice messages are enabled, whether group chats are permitted, and when the app goes into quiet mode, for example in the evenings or during school hours.
With Ping, children do not need their own phone number or email address. They log in exclusively via a QR code. All messages are end-to-end encrypted. And because Ping is developed and hosted in Germany, it adheres to strict European data protection standards: no advertising, no data sales, no profiling.
From what age is Ping suitable?
Ping has been designed to adapt to the child’s age and abilities, rather than the other way round. Even very young children from around 4 years old can already use Ping: parents can set up the app so that only stickers, drawings and voice messages are available – no text, no photos. This means that children who cannot yet read or write can still stay in touch with their grandparents or close family members.
This works even without a smartphone of their own, as Ping runs on a family tablet. Ping has been independently tested by the IARC and carries the USK age rating of 0+ — meaning there are no age restrictions.
The core experience of Ping is aimed at primary school children who can already read and write and are starting to communicate with school friends. This is where the full chat interface comes into its own: stickers, drawings, voice messages, text and, if parents allow it, photos too. Writing via an app can even help develop reading and writing skills in a playful way.
However, it is important for me to say: we do not want to give children extra screen time. Children today are digital natives; they grow up with technology, and the question is not whether, but how they use digital media. Ping gives parents the tools to to actively guide and shape this first step into digital communication: with downtime, clear boundaries, and the option to unlock features gradually as the child matures. Younger children should always use the app together with a parent.
Digital products for families that protect children and promote a healthy approach to digital media: that is the mission of SafeCircles GmbH, the company behind Ping.
How much parental ‘control’ over chats on Ping do you think is necessary and/or sensible?
That’s a question I’ve often asked myself as a father, and the answer lies in Ping’s design: parents should know who their child is talking to, without having to read every single message. For me, real control doesn’t mean surveillance, but setting boundaries. Parents decide who is allowed to enter their child’s digital life, and that’s it. Ping takes care of the rest.
In practical terms: parents approve every new contact. In group chats, they can see who is in the group and are notified when someone new joins. This way, they always stay in the loop without having to read the chat themselves.
At the same time, children learn to take responsibility for themselves. If something feels wrong in a chat, they can easily pause or leave the chat directly from within the app. Parents receive an immediate notification with the key details: what was the problem, and with whom? This allows parents and children to discuss the matter together and find a solution. If necessary, the contact can be blocked or removed.
For me, this is the healthiest approach: not controlling, but supporting. Children need a safe space in which they can learn to use digital communication responsibly, with parents who are there in the background when needed.
Is Ping difficult to set up and how much does it cost?
Not at all; it only takes a few minutes to set up. Parents first download Ping onto their own device and set up the family account there. They create a profile for their child and set a PIN, which the child will use to log in to the app later. They then download Ping onto the child’s device or the family tablet, scan the setup QR code, and that’s it. The child can get started straight away.
Ping is available as a family subscription and costs €2.99 per month. This covers all the children in the family, as well as trusted adults such as grandparents who wish to message the child.
There’s a special offer for Stadt Land Mama readers: use the code STADTLANDMAMA to try Ping for 3 months free of charge. Simply enter the code on the subscription page and get started.
Larger providers also offer the option to set up parental controls – so what makes yours even better?
It’s true that major messaging providers are starting to introduce features for families and younger users, and I’m pleased about that. The key difference, however, lies in how the controls work. With traditional messaging apps, parents receive notifications about their children’s activities at best. With Ping, parents actively decide how their children are allowed to use the app: which features are enabled, when the app goes into sleep mode, and whether photos or group chats are permitted. These settings can be adjusted at any time as the child gets older and is able to take on more responsibility.
On supported Apple devices, the app automatically scans photos for sensitive content before they are sent or received, entirely on the device, without any data being transferred.
All this is possible because Ping was developed from the ground up for children, rather than as an add-on to an app originally built for adults. If you’d like to read about the differences in detail, we’ve created our own comparison pages that pit Ping against WhatsApp and Signal: ping.kids/en/whatsapp-alternative-for-kids and ping.kids/de/signal-alternative-for-kids.
If this has piqued your curiosity, you should definitely check out PING! Don’t forget: Use the code STADTLANDMAMA to try Ping for 3 months free of charge. Simply enter the code on the subscription page and get started. For greater safety, more communication and peace of mind!
