Turning on child mode

What you need

• A family circle you are a guardian of. If you do not have one yet, create it from the map: New circle → family.
• A Fenzly account for the child, on their own phone: an account is created with a phone number or an email address, pick whichever suits them.
• A verified phone number on your own profile: parental consent is confirmed by an SMS code sent to that number. Without one, the app offers to add it first.

1. Bring the child into the circle

Invite the child into the family circle like any other member, by code or by link (guide Join a circle with a code). They first enter as an ordinary member: the child role is set afterwards, in the circle, by a guardian.

2. Designate them as a child

1. Open the circle, then the member’s card.
2. Choose Set as child.
3. Fenzly shows the parental-consent notice: what child mode changes, and what Fenzly records (your identifier, the child’s, the method and the date, nothing else). Tap Get the code.
4. Type the 6-digit code received by SMS. The consent is recorded and child mode is on.

3. Set what they can do

From Manage child:

• Allow turning sharing off: when off, the child cannot stop sharing their position with the family. The “Nothing” choice disappears from their sharing settings.
• Allowed contacts: the members of their family circles are allowed automatically. This list is for out-of-circle contacts, a friend or a relative, that you approve one by one and can remove.
• Blocked attempts: invitations and messages from people not allowed, stopped before they reached the child.

Day to day

The child uses Fenzly normally with their family: shared places, arrivals and departures, conversations. They cannot create a circle, invite anyone, or add a contact. The SOS button stays available to them and alerts their guardians.

Separated parents

A child can be a member of two family circles, each with its own guardians and places. Each guardian manages only their own family; the allowed contacts of both families add up, and if either family requires sharing to stay on, it stays on.

Ending child mode

Fenzly does not know the members’ ages: nothing changes automatically. When the time comes, from the member’s card, remove the parental consent or set them as a guardian or an adult. The contact and sharing restrictions are lifted immediately, and the consent receipt is deleted from the server. A family always keeps at least one guardian.