One private place for your whole family.
OurDot is a family-only app. There is no public profile, no search, no friend requests and no feed from strangers. Here is how it fits together.
The rules everyone shares
- Invite-onlyOnly a guardian can invite someone. Adults can never request a child.
- No strangersNo search, no public profiles, no suggested friends. Your family is the whole network.
- No ads, everNo advertising, no in-app purchases, and we never sell your information.
- A feed that endsNewest first, then "You're all caught up." No algorithm.
Three kinds of people
Guardians
Parents and legal guardians. They invite people, choose each child's age range, set school-time and sleep-time locks and daily game time, and can remove anyone instantly.
Kids and teens
They share with family, play and learn. The guardian line, a chat with just their guardians, is always open, even during school or sleep time.
Trusted adults
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and close friends. They see family posts and the family chat and write notes, but never chat one-on-one with a child.
What a day looks like
OurDot opens to messages, not a feed: the family chat, any group chats a guardian made (like "Our house" or "Dad's side"), and each child's guardian line. Grandma posts a photo of her tomatoes to the family feed. A kid sends her a private heart and a voice note. After school, the family plays the daily word puzzle and compares colored dots. Someone picks tonight's recipe in Family Kitchen, and the kids choose their helper jobs. At bedtime, sleep mode quietly closes everything except the guardian line.
Notifications come bundled three times a day by default (9 am, 3 pm and 9 pm) so phones aren't buzzing all day. Anyone can switch to "right away."
Growing up inside OurDot
Guardians choose an age range for each child, and privacy grows with them: fuller guardian checks under 13, lighter at 13 to 15, and optional at 16 and up. This follows the American Psychological Association's advice for closer involvement in early adolescence and more independence as kids build skills. See the science →
Common questions
Can people outside my family find us?
No. There is no search, no public profile and no way to request to join. Someone can only get in with an invite a guardian created.
Can a grandparent message my child privately?
No. Trusted adults talk with kids in the family chat or family groups, where guardians are present. Only guardians have a private line with a child.
What happens during school or sleep time?
For that child, everything rests except the guardian line, which always stays open. The locks run on our servers, so changing a phone setting can’t skip them.