Tin Can kids phone
Kids landline phone in Phones & tablets
Parents recommend it for giving young children autonomy, with calls limited to approved numbers and no screen. Critics mainly raise privacy concerns and a subscription for outside calls.
Parents recommend it for giving young children autonomy, with calls limited to approved numbers and no screen. Critics mainly raise privacy concerns and a subscription for outside calls.
38 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 58%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Lock calls to approved numbers
“the biggest positive for us is the phone can't make calls or receive calls from numbers that we don't approve first”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “the ability to lock down the phone to just a few numbers is the appeal”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “Control over what numbers are dialed and who can dial in”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” - Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids”
Gives young kids autonomy
“I'm a happy Tin Can customer. For young children (5 and 7 in my case) it's especially delightful to give them a measure of autonomy”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “they’ve used it every day. It feels like it gives them a bit of autonomy they’re seeking right now”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “For the 4yo-6yo demographic with no access to an iPhone or screen device, the analog phone is a blast.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “The Hottest Phone for Kids Right Now Is a $100 Landline” Screen-free, tactile fun for kids
“For the 4yo-6yo demographic with no access to an iPhone or screen device, the analog phone is a blast.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “The Hottest Phone for Kids Right Now Is a $100 Landline” “The tactility is incredible, and it's so just so cute to watch them chat away”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “old-school phone reinvented!”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Tin Can: a screen free phone for kids”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Privacy concerns over recorded calls
“In addition to collecting all the metadata they also collect the voices of children recorded in voicemails.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “Tin Can uses the calls and voicemails to collect data on children and sell that to others.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “Another comment claims they record calls. Big yikes.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” - Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids”
- Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids”
Terms of service seem unenforceable
“If a company puts unenforceable terms in their TOS, how likely are they to comply with the law in every other matter?”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “there's a noncompete clause: You agree not to "build, benchmark, or develop a competing product or service."”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “This is laughably unenforceable, and all the more ridiculous for it.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” Costly for limited fun
“It was fun for about two weeks, then they had friends with FaceTime”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “The Hottest Phone for Kids Right Now Is a $100 Landline” “this e-waste cost as much as a cheap or second hand smartphone”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “$100 is a lot for 5 minutes of fun.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” Extra fees for outside calls
“in addition to $75 for each phone, if you want to talk with anyone outside of their walled garden”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The hottest new phone is Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids” “it apparently needs a subscription to call regular numbers”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Retro-Tech Parenting”
What people said
39 of the 45 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it apparently needs a subscription to call regular numbers”
“It lacks the features and network effects of the tin can system but is still pretty fun.”
“All their batches are sold out, I guess it's pretty popular.”
“For the 4yo-6yo demographic with no access to an iPhone or screen device, the analog phone is a blast.”
“old-school phone reinvented!”
“It was fun for about two weeks, then they had friends with FaceTime”
“It requires an internet connection and use of WiFI (no Ethernet)”
“Surely someone can build a more privacy-friendly decentralized solution?”
“I'm glad it's a push-button phone, and not a rotary phone.”
“opt out if you are privacy minded”
“Is it the game changer we thought it would be? No.”
“The tactility is incredible, and it's so just so cute to watch them chat away”
“a service that can hoover up their imagination for later manipulation”
“Control over what numbers are dialed and who can dial in”
“the hardware is "eh", but the service is pretty great”
“the biggest positive for us is the phone can't make calls or receive calls from numbers that we don't approve first”
“If a company puts unenforceable terms in their TOS, how likely are they to comply with the law in every other matter?”
“it's designed to serve a different purpose”
“the ability to lock down the phone to just a few numbers is the appeal”
“This sounds like a brilliant idea.”
“this e-waste cost as much as a cheap or second hand smartphone”
“it is more reliable than the DIY version I was cobbling together with a Pi and some Legos”
“Another comment claims they record calls. Big yikes.”
“their newly purchased TinCan is far more restricted than the 10 year old phone”
“now seeing their privacy policy, it's definitely nothing for me”
“In addition to collecting all the metadata they also collect the voices of children recorded in voicemails.”
“This is a nice idea, because it physically limits the place the child can call from.”
“Tin Can uses the calls and voicemails to collect data on children and sell that to others.”
“I fail to see any benefit over”
“they’ve used it every day. It feels like it gives them a bit of autonomy they’re seeking right now”
“I'm a happy Tin Can customer. For young children (5 and 7 in my case) it's especially delightful to give them a measure of autonomy”
“There is no monthly cost to a UI.”
“Wonderful idea. The kid can call their friend "Let's meet outside".”
“This is laughably unenforceable, and all the more ridiculous for it.”
“in addition to $75 for each phone, if you want to talk with anyone outside of their walled garden”
“there's a noncompete clause: You agree not to "build, benchmark, or develop a competing product or service."”
“We bought units for the friends.”
“$100 is a lot for 5 minutes of fun.”
“hope they stick around so I can get one for my kids”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.