An app called Young Minds aims to give parents control over their children’s internet activities while also protecting their kids’ privacy and teaching them good online habits. The startup was founded by Nino Dvaladze, an entrepreneur and mother of two from the United Kingdom.
Dvaladze explained that the idea for Young Minds came from conversations with other parents who share concerns about keeping children safe while still allowing them access to the internet. She acknowledged that the internet is enormously helpful for education, exploration, and connecting with people outside one’s immediate circle.
Young Minds will be presenting at Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. The app has two versions, one for parents and one for children. The parent app provides certain controls, allowing parents to set screen time limits and restrict certain content. However, it does not allow parents to monitor all communications on their children’s devices.
The founder stated that safety is the minimum foundation for the app, ensuring that content not intended for young eyes does not reach them. The app is also designed to educate children by explaining why certain content is blocked or flagged as risky. It uses AI to scan a child’s device use to detect potentially harmful content, but the company does not store any user data. Parents can also use an in-app chatbot to learn about the potential risks of certain sites or apps.
Young Minds is currently available on Android. An iOS version will launch next week, though Dvaladze admits that due to iOS restrictions on data access from other apps, the Apple device version is slightly different and utilizes workarounds. With parent consent, some information is stored and analyzed as part of the iOS workaround.
For controlling screen time, Young Minds can be configured to activate routines and specific modes. These include a study mode, which only allows educational apps, and a wind down mode, which restricts apps and usage that could interfere with sleep. Parents can customize these modes to fit their family’s needs.
The TechCrunch Disrupt event will take place from October 27 to 29 in San Francisco.