This review of the Doorman app highlights its potential as an alternative to phone pouches in schools. Unlike pouches, which promote avoidance, Doorman limits distractions while teaching responsibility and digital literacy. Students keep their phones but with restricted access to approved apps. Testing showed the app worked well, with high student buy-in due to its fairness. Privacy concerns were addressed transparently, and schools found it effective.

Pinwheel is advertised to be a child’s “first phone that grows with your child.” What we read about the Pinwheel intrigued us enough to connect with the company directly, to see if they would send us a phone to test and evaluate.