On 5 October 2026, Swisscom announced the launch of Kids Security, an app designed to manage children’s use of smartphones and the internet. According to the operator’s press release, the tool is meant to let family members agree on usage rules together and then apply them. Here is what the app does according to Swisscom, what has been specified about how it works and what remains open, particularly regarding data.

What the app does, according to Swisscom

The press release lists several features: screen time management, app control, a content filter, usage statistics and location functions, presented as optional. The app also offers different modes, including a leisure mode and a learning mode. In this text, Swisscom does not detail what each mode actually allows or blocks.

In addition to these settings, users have access, again according to the company, to content and advice on media skills and the responsible use of digital media. The exact nature of this content is not specified.

Guidance rather than surveillance: a promise to be tested in practice

Swisscom claims that Kids Security differs from conventional parental control solutions by focusing, in its own words, “on guidance rather than control” (our translation). In concrete terms, the press release puts forward two points: children are actively involved in setting the rules with their parents, and the app notifies the child when their parents check their location. This is the only example of transparency given by the operator.

This is a statement by the company. The announced features (screen time limits, app control, filtering) are very much parental control; the claimed difference lies mainly in how the rules are set and communicated. The press release does not say whether the child can refuse or challenge a rule, nor whether they are notified when anything other than their location is checked, such as their usage statistics.

Dirk Wierzbitzki, Head of Residential Customers and member of the Executive Committee of Swisscom Switzerland, is quoted in the press release (our translation): “With Kids Security, we are helping parents and children to develop healthy media use together and to safely enjoy the opportunities offered by the connected world.”

What data is processed?

By design, the app deals with sensitive information: the child’s location (if location tracking is enabled), the apps they use and their usage statistics. The press release, however, gives no details on how this data is processed: where it is stored, how long it is kept, who has access to it at Swisscom or at any service providers, or how the content filter works technically. These points are not addressed in the source.

The only indication: location tracking is described as optional. Interested families would therefore do well to read the app’s terms of use and privacy policy before installing it.

Platforms, price and conditions

According to Swisscom, Kids Security is available now on iOS and Android; a Windows version is due to follow “soon”, with no specific date. The subscription costs CHF 4.90 per month, with a 50% discount announced until the end of the year. There is no limit on the number of children and devices.

The app is not open to everyone: a Swisscom blue Mobile or Kids Mobile subscription is required to use it. On additional devices, such as the second parent’s, it can also work with a subscription or a prepaid offer from another operator. The press release does not specify which device the Swisscom subscription must be on, the child’s or a parent’s.

Sources