SkieCan I get a phone or tablet for my child with no social media?
Yes. With Skie, social media apps stay off the allowed list and the Play Store is hidden, so the child cannot install them. The browser, if allowed, has SafeSearch forced and incognito blocked. It works on a phone or tablet you already own.
You can buy a phone that ships without social media, or you can take the phone you have and decide what goes on it. Skie is the second route.
You choose the apps the child can use, and everything else is hidden. Leave the social apps out and they simply do not appear. Hide the Play Store so the child cannot install them again, and block unknown sources so they cannot sideload them. Anything installed after setup that is not allowed is removed automatically by the install guard.
The browser is the other door. Chrome stays available only if you allow it, and then with SafeSearch forced, YouTube restricted mode, incognito blocked and sign-in blocked. More than 50 alternative browsers are always blocked, as are VPN and proxy apps. Social media sites in the browser are not blocked by name because per-website lists are not available yet, so consider leaving the browser off for younger children.
Kids' phones such as Gabb or Pinwheel are designed along these lines and come with their own hardware and plans. Skie does not include a phone or plan, but you keep the phone and carrier you have.
Tablets are covered the same way. A tablet with books, drawing, maths and a few games, and nothing else, takes a few minutes to set up in the dashboard.