Hi! My less-than-10-year-old has their own iPad (registered under my apple id) and wants to be able to “text” with the rest of the family. Most of us are not Apple people though: Android phones, using some combo of SMS, Discord, and Signal. The little one doesn’t have a phone, so I think that prevents us from signing them up for Signal. I could probably install Discord on the iPad, though it doesn’t feel ideal. They use iMessage (or whatever it’s called) to text a couple other friends/grandma/etc who also have Apple stuff, but what should we use for our mostly-non-Apple family that wouldn’t require a phone number?
An internet search pointed me to WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber… stuff I’ve never used but it seems popular. Facebook Messenger also, but screw that. Google Chat/Hangouts (or whatever it’s called now) is another option, which would require creating a google account.
If nothing else appeals to me we’ll probably go the Discord route, and I’ll just have to be clear, don’t join random servers :) But, anybody out there use WhatsApp with your kid, and does it not require a phone number? I’m open to other ideas! Thank you…
I’d second Discord! My kid and I use it.
We used to use Google chat or whatever the Gmail option was, but it was extremely difficult to do notifications on there.
My only advice is to keep an eye on servers they join and encourage them not to easily trust strangers or people who may say weird stuff.
With a general lesson internet safety (that honestly should be discussed with any online communication platform), you should be all good!