Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Landline-style phones make comeback as parents keep kids off smartphones
Landlines are making a comeback, but this time they are made for kids.
A landline is an old-fashioned phone that plugs into the wall.
A company called Tin Can makes a new kid-friendly version that connects to Wi-Fi but has no games, apps, or internet.
Kids can only call phone numbers that their parents approve.
Tin Can phones started selling in April 2025 and are so popular that they keep selling out.
Parents buy them because they want their kids to stay connected without staring at smartphone screens all day.
Some parents also worry about bad people online, so they want safer phones for their children.
Other companies, like Ooma and Pinwheel, now make similar landline-style phones for kids.
These new phones help kids talk to friends while still enjoying a slower, more independent childhood.
Screen-free, wall-plugged landline-style phones like the Tin Can are seeing an unexpected revival in the US, marketed to children.
The Tin Can has no apps, browser, texting or social media and only allows calls to parent-approved numbers.
Since its April 2025 launch, the Tin Can has sold hundreds of thousands of units across all 50 US states and Canada and is 'perpetually sold out'.
Parents buy the devices mainly to reduce screen time, let kids manage their own social lives, and protect children from online risks.
Rival products include Ooma's MyPhone, which accounts for roughly 10% of residential sales, and Pinwheel's Home Phone for children.
- Who
- American parents buying screen-free landline-style phones for their children, and companies such as Tin Can, Ooma and Pinwheel that make them.
- What
- An unexpected revival of landline-style phones marketed to children as screen-free, Wi-Fi-enabled devices without apps, texting or social media.
- When
- Since the Tin Can's official launch in April 2025, with Ooma's MyPhone following in May.
- Where
- The United States and Canada, with preorders also opened in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
- Why
- Parents want to reduce screen time, let children manage their social lives independently, and protect kids from online risks.
- Device
- Tin Can, a screen-free phone that plugs into the wall
- Price
- About $100 for the device; optional $10 monthly plan for calls to regular phone numbers
- Features
- No apps, browser, texting or social media; calls parent-approved numbers; free Tin Can-to-Tin Can calls
- Launch
- Official launch in April 2025
- Sales
- Hundreds of thousands of units sold across all 50 US states and Canada; 'perpetually sold out'
- Availability
- Preorders opened in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom
- Competitors
- Ooma MyPhone (launched in May, ~10% of residential sales) and Pinwheel Home Phone
- Landline Usage Decline
- Fell from over 90% of US adults in 2004 to about 20% by 2024