The safe SIM for your child's first phone.
Pop it into any basic phone for calls and texts. No internet, no apps, no endless scrolling. Only the people you approve can reach them.
Join the waitlist.
We're opening soon. Leave your details and we'll email you the day you can order.
- Be first to know the day we open
- No payment and no commitment to join
- Plans from £15.99 a month, with no contract
We'll only use your details to tell you about Wowtel. No spam, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Other controls live on the phone. Ours live in the network.
An app or a setting can be deleted, reset or worked around. Wowtel's rules sit in the mobile network itself, so they work in the simplest phone and there is nothing on it to switch off.
A general comparison of typical set-ups. Amber means partly, or that it depends on the phone or SIM.
AI checks their calls for signs of harm. You only hear the one that matters.
Switch it on and every call to your child is transcribed and checked by AI for a short, fixed list of warning signs. If something is flagged, you get an alert. If nothing is, the call is deleted unheard.
Then one of two things happens.
Nine signs of harm. Nothing else.
Not mood. Not arguments. Not a list of banned words.
- Grooming
- Sexual talk
- Pressure to keep secrets
- Pressure to meet up
- Threats
- Blackmail
- Exploitation
- Encouraging self-harm
- Your child saying they're being hurt
Built for safeguarding, not surveillance.
- Off until you switch it onNothing is recorded unless you choose it.
- Incoming calls onlyCalls your child makes are never recorded.
- No one at Wowtel listensThe check is automatic. Its only output is an alert to you.
- Helplines stay privateCalls to Childline and other helplines are never recorded.
- Ends at sixteenIt stops on your child's 16th birthday.
It's a SIM card. It makes a basic phone safe.
Your child uses it to call and text, exactly like any phone, on the UK's best network. The safety lives in the network itself, and you manage it from your browser.
Only the people you approve.
Calls and texts work with the contacts you choose. Everyone else is blocked before the phone rings.
No internet. No apps. No social media.
Start has no mobile data at all, so there is nothing to browse, download or scroll.
Home always gets through.
The home numbers you set always reach your child, so you're never the one who can't get hold of them.
Quiet at school and bedtime.
Choose the hours when calls stay silent. Home numbers still get through.
No surprise bills.
Premium numbers and subscriptions won't connect. The monthly price is the whole bill.
You set the rules from your browser. No app, ever.
Sign in to a secure web page on your phone, tablet or laptop and choose who can reach your child. Nothing is installed on their handset, so there's nothing for them to switch off.
Ready for a phone‑free school.
More and more UK schools now ask for a basic phone with a no-data SIM. Wowtel Start is exactly that, with the safety a bare SIM can't give.
Rules vary between schools. Check your own school's policy and approved-phone list before you buy.
On a smartphone, the rules still can't be switched off.
Put the same Wowtel SIM in a smartphone and nothing changes. Who can call, who can text and when are set in the network, not in an app or in the phone's settings, so there is nothing on the device for your child to change.
Wowtel looks after calls, texts and mobile data. For Wi-Fi and apps, use the phone's own parental controls alongside it.
What parents told us
“I'd been dreading the whole smartphone conversation. This let me put it off for another few years without her feeling left out.”
“The bit that sold me was that only people I've approved can ring her. She's ten. She doesn't need to be reachable by strangers.”
Common questions
What happens after I join the waitlist?+
We'll email you the day Wowtel opens, with a link to choose your plan. Joining costs nothing and doesn't commit you to anything.
How much will it cost?+
Plans start from £15.99 a month, including VAT, with no contract. You can cancel at any time.
Is it a phone or a SIM?+
It's a SIM card. You put it into any basic phone, one you already have or a simple one from around £20, and it works for calls and texts straight away. It's designed for a basic phone, and works perfectly in a smartphone too.
Do I need to install an app?+
No. You manage everything from a secure web page in your browser, on any device. There's nothing on your child's phone to install, switch off or delete.
Can they still call and text normally?+
Yes. It's a real mobile network on the UK's best coverage. Your child calls and texts just like on any phone, with the contacts you approve.
Does it meet our school's rules?+
Most schools ask for an approved basic phone with a SIM that has no mobile data. The Start plan has no data at all, so it fits. Rules vary, so check your own school's policy.
Are calls to Childline or other helplines ever recorded?+
No, never. Calls to Childline, Samaritans, Shout, Papyrus and other recognised helplines are never recorded, checked or shown in your call history, on any plan.
If your child ever needs to reach one of these services, that conversation stays private.
Does Wowtel have location tracking?+
Not yet — and it's a fair question. Reliable location tracking needs a smartphone with mobile data and an app running constantly in the background, which is exactly what we leave off a safe first phone. Without those, any 'find my phone' feature would be patchy at best, and we'd rather not promise something that doesn't work properly.
It's on our radar for the future. For now, if you'd like to keep an eye on a bag or belongings, a small Bluetooth tracker like a Tile or Apple AirTag tucked inside works nicely — they're made for finding belongings, not people. And your child can always call or text home in seconds.
Be first in line when we open.
Join the waitlist and we'll email you the day you can order. It costs nothing to join.
Join the waitlist