MMGuardian Phone vs Pinwheel Phone
Trying to decide which is the best first phone for your child? Read on to learn about the Pinwheel Phone and how it compares to the MMGuardian Phone.
Summary
- The Pinwheel Phone does not come with any sort of alerts for parents about concerning content in messages, nor does it offer social media message monitoring. The MMGuardian Phone provides AI-powered Safety Alerts about concerning content in messages and reports social media messages, if parents choose to allow their child to use social media.
- Both phones allow you to choose your cellular provider.
- The Pinwheel Phone subscription costs $14.99/month and the MMGuardian Phone subscription costs $9.99/month. As far as the pricing for the phones themselves, Pinwheel phones are notably more expensive despite not being superior quality.
- On the Pinwheel Phone, parents can only download specific apps from an “approved” list of apps. The MMGuardian Phone allows parents to download any app from Google Play onto their child’s phone.
- The Pinwheel Phone has basic parental controls, but children will quickly outgrow them as they get older. The MMGuardian Phone comes with a robust set of parental control options that can be adapted to the child as they get older. See comparison chart below.
| Feature | MMGuardian Phone | Pinwheel Phone |
| No Social Media Option | ||
| GPS Location | ||
| Remote Management | ||
| SMS Message Monitoring | ||
| Contact Safelist | ||
| Supports Multiple Carriers | ||
| Limit Screen Time | ||
| Message Safety Alerts | ||
| Picture Monitoring | ||
| Social Media Message Monitoring | ||
| Filtered Internet | ||
| Find Phone Siren | ||
| Automatic Location Tracking | ||
| Download Any Approved App | ||
| Monthly Subscription Price | $9.99/month | $14.99/month |
Monitoring & Control
MMGuardian:
With the MMGuardian Phone, parents can monitor and control their child’s phone as much or as little as necessary, all from their own phone! You can keep track of:
- who your child is communicating with,
- what they are texting, even if they delete the text,
- which websites they are viewing,
- how long they are spending on apps,
- and more!
You also have in-depth control over your child’s ability to use those functions, and you will receive AI-generated alerts about concerning content in messages.
Pinwheel:
With a Pinwheel Phone, parents are able to monitor their child’s SMS text message and call history from the Caregiver portal. There is not currently an option for receiving alerts about concerning messages, but the Pinwheel website says that feature will be released at some point in 2023.
Apps & Games
MMGuardian:
The MMGuardian Phone gives parents full freedom to block or allow any app available on Google Play, with the Google Play app requiring a password. Parents can also assign apps daily time limits or block them according to custom schedules.
Pinwheel:
The Pinwheel Phone limits which apps are available to download from Google Play. If an app isn’t on the approved apps list, it cannot be downloaded. Parents are able to request that specific apps be added to the list, but until it is added, it cannot be downloaded which could be frustrating if children need specific apps for school or want to play a game that isn’t on the list. Parents can set custom schedules for when apps can and cannot be used.
Internet Browsing
MMGuardian:
The MMGuardian Phone lets parents have full control over their child’s internet use. They can disable it entirely, they can set up age-appropriate filtering, or they can allow/block specific websites. Parents can also view all browsing history.
Pinwheel:
The Pinwheel Phone does not allow any internet browsing.
Screen Time
MMGuardian:
With the MMGuardian Phone, parents have extreme flexibility in limiting their child’s phone use. The MMGuardian Phone can be totally locked, allowing only for communication with emergency contacts. This can be done on-demand, from the parent’s own phone, or according to custom schedules which will lock the phone automatically at specific times and days. The MMGuardian Phone also comes with extremely granular controls for apps, allowing parents to highly customize which apps their child is able to use, along with when and for how long.
Pinwheel:
With the Pinwheel Phone, parents rely on the app schedules to determine when their child can and cannot use apps on the phone and contact people, but there is no way to set time limits for apps.
Future Considerations
As your child matures and becomes more responsible, the MMGuardian Phone can be adapted accordingly. With limited apps and no internet browsing, your child will outgrow the Pinwheel Phone very quickly.