The right amount of freedom — for right now.
Every child is different. ChatMinder’s three Contacts Protection levels let you start with full control and loosen it as they grow — at your pace, not anyone else’s.
One setting doesn’t fit every child — or every stage
Different children need different levels of supervision. A 7-year-old chatting with cousins needs completely different settings from a 14-year-old managing their own social circle. ChatMinder’s three Contacts Protection levels let you choose the right level for your child right now — and change it as they grow.
Three levels. One tap to change.
Guardian Managed — You control everything
Your child can’t add contacts or start chats on their own. All contact requests and new chats are initiated by you from the guardian dashboard. Best for younger children or when you want full visibility from day one. A guardian joins them to groups with the group’s QR code or code; they cannot join a group by link themselves.
Approval Required — They initiate, you decide
Your child can send contact requests and start chats, but each request comes to you for approval before it goes through. They have real independence — within clear boundaries. Best for children who are ready to take initiative but still need oversight. If they follow a group’s link, the group approves first and then you approve.
No Approval Required — They manage their own circle
Your child can add contacts and start chats freely. You keep silent visibility over their activity but aren’t involved in every decision. Best for older children building confidence and a sense of social responsibility. They join a group by link as soon as the group approves.
Not sure where to start?
Here’s a rough guide — but you know your child best:
- Under 10 — Guardian Managed is a sensible starting point
- 10–12 — Approval Required gives them agency with your oversight
- 13+ — No Approval Required lets them manage their own social circle
These are suggestions, not rules. There’s no right or wrong answer — start somewhere and adjust as you see how they use the app.
You can change it any time — with immediate effect
Changing the Contacts Protection level takes a few taps in the supervision dashboard and applies immediately. Chat history is completely unaffected. There’s no penalty, disruption, or delay — if you change your mind, just change it back.
Incoming and outgoing — two separate controls
Incoming contact approval
When this is on, any contact request sent to your child is held and sent to you for approval. The person making the request doesn’t know it’s been held — they just wait. You approve or decline, and the outcome is applied immediately.
Outgoing contact approval
When this is on, any contact request your child tries to make is held and sent to you for approval. Your child can see the request is pending. You approve or decline, and the outcome is applied immediately.
Every protection area is independent
Contacts Protection controls who your child can connect with.
Message Protection controls what gets said.
Feature Protection controls which interactive features — GIFs, stickers, phone discoverability, and AI message improvement — your child can use.
Call Protection controls who can call your child, independently of everything else.
These four settings are entirely independent — you can have No Approval Required contact freedom but still require all messages to be approved before delivery, restrict calling entirely, or any other combination that works for your family. On top of all four, Channel Protection (a Premium feature) lets you override the Message and Call rules for one specific conversation without changing anything globally.
Contact protection settings → — Control who they can connect with
Message protection settings → — Control what gets said
Feature protection settings → — Control which interactive features they can use
Voice & video calling → — Control who can call
Channel protection → — Override rules for individual conversations
How approvals work → — Understand the full approval lifecycle
Ready to get started?
It takes minutes to set up. No phone number or email required for your child.