Low-cost carrier TextNow is launching its first child-friendly phone on Tuesday, pairing a heavily discounted Motorola handset with a software portal that lets parents control who their kid can call or text.
Yello is a customized Moto G Play that costs $150 — $100 less than the standard model’s current retail price — and comes with a $20 monthly plan, with no other required contracts or service commitments.
The Android phone restricts access to Google’s Play Store and doesn’t allow users to install additional apps or services. It’s designed primarily for calls and texts with parent-approved contacts, which parents can manage through a web-based portal that also lets them check the phone’s GPS location. Kids can call or text those contacts from a menu of large icons reminiscent of Netflix’s profile selection screen.
Yello’s software only lets kids call or text parent-approved contacts.TextNow
Other software available on the phone includes access to the cameras — a 32-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera — along with the calculator, clock and a weather app. Seven preloaded games can be enabled, which include phone classics such as Snake, Mines and Tic-Tac-Toe. Photos taken on the phone can only be shared with parents.
This more restrictive approach should let kids stay in touch with approved friends and coordinate pickups with parents while limiting distractions and access to content inappropriate for young children.
The Yello phone is identical to Motorola’s 2026 Moto G Play, pictured here.
The 2026 Moto G Play is a good choice for Yello’s software approach. When I reviewed the phone last year, I liked its larger 5,200-mAh battery because it could easily get through two days of use. But its less-powerful processor, 64GB of storage and 4GB of memory made it challenging to use as a media machine. Since Yello’s software deliberately avoids that use, the Moto G Play should be more than sufficient for calls and texts.
Despite the name, the Yello phone is available in just one color: the same soft blue on every 2026 Moto G Play that Motorola calls “pantone tapestry.”
Most US carriers offer their own versions of child-friendly devices such as Yello. AT&T, for instance, has repurposed the Samsung Galaxy A16 into the AmiGo Jr with similar parental controls. There are also a number of child-friendly smartwatches, which may be a better option depending on your family’s needs for connectivity. But Yello does offer a lot of flexibility, since it doesn’t require a more expensive unlimited data plan or a minimum service commitment.
The Yello phone is now available on TextNow’s website.
Mike Sorrentino
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