What research asks for, built in
Studies and surveys keep pointing to the same few measures. In Maiora they aren't settings to switch on: they're how the app works.
- Protect children from strangers: 70% of Europeans name grooming and sexual exploitation among the biggest risks on social media (Eurobarometer, 2026).
- Nobody can reach a child until a parent has approved them. Children's accounts can't be found by phone number or through contact lists.
- Private profiles from the start.
- There are no public profiles at all. A child is visible only to the people their parents have approved.
- Limits on infinite scrolling and excessive use.
- No feed, no recommendations, no streaks and no read receipts: nothing is designed to keep a child on the screen.
- Bans have a cost: a child without a phone can easily be left out.
- No phone of their own is needed: a child's account lives on a parent's phone or a family tablet, so they stay part of the class chat.
- Gradual access, with parents involved, before autonomy.
- Parents decide contacts, groups and what's allowed in each group, and give more freedom step by step. At 18 the account becomes the child's own.
The EU KIDS Act, proposed by the European Commission in September 2026, asks for the same: profiles private by default, no infinite scroll or streaks, no unsolicited contact from strangers, easy ways to block and mute, and tools for parents who pass their own phone to a child. Maiora already works this way. Usage limits, by time or by number of messages, we want to define together with families rather than impose from the start.
Built to be liked by children.
Parents know the moment: a child tries the “safe” app, rolls their eyes and asks for WhatsApp instead. Maiora is a complete messenger, carefully designed and fun to use: group chats, voice notes with filters, stickers, photos and video, voice and video calls, polls, and chat effects like autumn leaves or snow falling across the screen. Because safety only makes sense if children actually want to use the app.
Frequently asked questions
What data does Maiora hold about children?
Only what the account needs: the name the parent chooses, a date of birth, so we know when the child turns 18, and the technical data needed to deliver messages. A child's account has no phone number. Messages are end-to-end encrypted, so we can't read them, and they're deleted from our servers after 14 days. Everything is stored in the EU.
What about bullying or inappropriate content?
Because only contacts a parent has approved can reach a child, the gravest risks, such as strangers, grooming and unsolicited images from outside, are excluded by design. Within a circle of friends, conflicts can still happen, as they do at school. Parents see every contact and every group, decide who's in them, and decide what can be shared in each group. This is also where we'd most value your experts' view.
Why not WhatsApp's parental controls?
WhatsApp is built for billions of adults and owned by an advertising company. In 2026 it added controls for teenagers on top. Maiora started from the other end: protecting children came first, and every feature was built on that.
- Approval before contact, at every age. On Maiora, nobody can reach a child until a parent has said yes, and that holds until 18, unless parents decide to let their child add friends themselves. WhatsApp's controls mostly tell parents after the fact, for example when their child joins a group.
- No phone of their own. WhatsApp's controls are for children who already have their own phone and phone number. Maiora works on a parent's phone or a family tablet.
- No phone number to leak. A child's account has no number at all, and strangers can't find it through contact lists.
- What's shared stays in the chat. Messages can't be forwarded, and on Android screenshots of a child's chats are blocked.
- Paid for by families. Maiora is independent: no ads, no data sold. Its income will come from families alone.
To be fair: if a child already has a phone and the whole class is on WhatsApp, its controls are a reasonable choice. Maiora is for families who want to start earlier, without a phone of the child's own, and outside the big platforms.
Can parents read their children's messages?
No. There's no feature for it, and we can't read them either. Parents see every contact and every group, and decide who's in them. They don't see what's said.
What would working with us involve?
Only what you choose. There's no cost and no exclusivity, and every step can stay the last one: a conversation, a pilot, or an invitation to speak. Your recommendation is something we hope to earn, not something we ask for at the start.
Is Maiora available now?
Yes, in a closed beta on Android and iPhone, in Italian, German and English. For a pilot we set up every family ourselves.
Who pays for Maiora, and how will it make money?
Today it's self-funded by its founder, with no investors and no advertisers. Everything Maiora does today will stay free. Later there may be extra features in an optional family subscription; the safety features will always stay free.
