Gabb Phone 4: The Perfect First Phone for Kids - Safe Apps, No Social Media/Internet Browser, GPS Tracking, Parental Controls, Talk & Text, 30 Activation Fee

I bought for my Grandson to be able to call me whenever he wants. I like that there are so many safety features. It's a Christmas gift so I'll update my rating if anything changes. **UPDATE - My Grandson (5 yr old) has been using it a week. We love it! Great way for him to communicate with the family. Love the parental controls and notifications. The video calling is hit or miss but no problems with the voice or texting. Takes a minute to understand everything. Android users will figure it out faster lol

My daughter has been begging for her first phone. It felt overwhelming at first to know what was the best option for her. My friend recommend the Gabb Phone and so after lots of research, we bought it and have been so happy with the purchase. If you buy from Amazon, the phone will not be pre-activated, so you may need to open it to activate it before giving it to your child if you want it all ready to go as a present. (The activation instructions are included in the box.) Gabb Phone 4 is the next step from the Gabb Watch and Gabb Phone Pro, so depending on your child's age (I recommend preteen), it would be the perfect next step in having their own phone but still with some safety features to keep your child safe. I love how the Gabb Phone 4 comes with an active GPS tracker (this was one of the features that sold me on the phone). I love how it also can use the Find My Phone feature if the phone gets lost. The apps are all preinstalled. It includes a Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Calendar, Camera, Gabb ID, Gabb Messenger, My Files, Notes, Phone, Photos, Settings, Video, Voice Recorder, and Weather. Gabb Music can also be used as a subscription. I love that the phone's plan is affordable and it is the perfect option to give my preteen a safe form of communication and freedom- while staying tech safe in a crazy world. Definitely Recommend!!

I carefully considered all my options in getting my children their first phone for use as a mobile house phone. This one seemed like the perfect choice for our family. I wanted a smartphone for the location tracking for when my son was off in the neighborhood and so the kids could learn how to text the way the majority of us do (as opposed to using T9 on a flip phone), and I liked that this was incapable of scrolling apps or unfettered Internet access. This phone was at a good price for Christmas and offered a free month of service, so it seemed like a good time to make it happen. Right out of the box, after setting it up and picking a service plan, I knew this was a mistake. It functions like a bloated old phone that can’t handle updates. On top of that, you have the option as a parent to add some extra apps from the website, and every one I clicked on gave me an error message and didn’t load, which is for the best because the battery life is absolute trash. This phone, right out of the box and with no extra apps or pictures or videos and without any serious use, cannot hold a charge for more than a day, and then it takes hours to reach a full charge. We have to charge it overnight to make sure it gets a full charge. I’ve been charged already for the first month of service, even though they’re advertising a free month. I was able to switch from a two year contact to month-to-month (because I don’t see this phone lasting two years), and I spoke to a person when doing so. The only reason I’m not pushing to return it is because my kids love having a phone & I can’t afford a better phone right now, but I do feel scammed. I plan on getting a new older model iPhone or Android and utilizing parental controls and apps in the coming year.

Great phone for kids and teens , Ease setup size was good . Safe for kids and teenagers where they just can not download apps the you don’t want them to have or if you don’t want them to be able to get on the internet they can not get on it .

Got the Gabb Phone 4 for my 5th grader, and it’s exactly what I hoped for. It’s simple, safe, and keeps them connected without all the distractions of social media or random apps. The phone feels sturdy and has just enough features (calling, texting, camera) to keep them happy and me worry-free. Battery life is solid—it easily lasts a full day of use. The parental controls are easy to set up and give me peace of mind knowing they’re not glued to the screen or stumbling onto something they shouldn’t. If you’re looking for a first phone for your kid that does the basics without opening the floodgates to the internet, this is it. No frills, no fluff, just what they need.

Purchased for my 12 year old. She has high functioning autism and we knew a phone would be a problem in many ways. Inhibition control is a challenge for her so we knew she wouldn’t be able to control her time on the device. We also knew, despite teaching her, that internet safety and texting was a really concern for us. She is too trusting and takes everything at people’s word so she could definitely be a target. This phone was perfect. She was bummed at first because it wasn’t an “iPhone” but once we helped her get it customized she was so happy to have something to connect with friends that it didn’t matter any more. The parental controls are great. I felt it a little difficult to use but she adapted fast and was using it right away and knew how to find everything she needed. It’s a really great first phone. The no internet and parent controlled apps really put my mind at ease. I wish this had been available when my older kids were little. We upgraded to the gabb 4 pro so that we could have a family shared calendar. See separate review for that phone.

TL;DR Overall, Gabb devices are great for users with additional device control needs especially. May not suit some users, but if you're in the market, give Gabb a look and/or try! Just make sure to get the 4 Pro (more down below) Full review: Decent service, decent device overall, overs most of what the 4 Pro offers. No other company provides such robust, granular parental control. Similarities: Software: Android-based but heavily Gabb-altered (but not in a bad way, see next points) No Internet browser Contact-management defaults to user-managed and filters unknown contact messages/calls to requests tab Optional Parent-Approved contact mode blocks ALL contacts except parent approved Location tracking capabilities Plans: Starter: 25-30 pre-tax: NO picture/group msg (MMS), cloud storage for pictures/contacts, no other frills Standard: 30-35 pre-tax; adds MMS, Gabb Music Lite (explicit free radio-style music), more cloud storage Advanced: 35-50? pre-tax; switches to Gabb Music Plus (more typical customizable music player with same artist/song access), 3-10GB data, and additional cloud storage (Note: no 3rd party app support only essential apps) Key differences: Made by Nuu (not Samsung) Overall decent specs compared to the 4 Pro, that work decently well (didn't keep it long enough for deeper testing) Back finger print sensor as opposed to side button Plastic (and more cheap-feeling) build You can remove the battery (I heard someone was upset about the phone not turning on, then finding out they didn't put in the battery. At the time I kind of laughed, but when I actually got the phone, I can see why. The phone is surprisingly hefty without the battery. Not uncomfortably so, though Factory reset is allowed without calling tech support for a command to be sent to the phone first (unlike 4 Pro) Extra apps are limited the “essential” apps (which are like 10 I think?) even on the advanced plan Points to consider: Objectively overpriced as of Mar 2025 (less of the typical phone features, and often higher monthly than adding a line to an existing family plan. PLUS, 4 and 4 Pro plans are literally the same price with less features offered on the 4 Advanced plan) Not without quirks (examples: verification codes come through as requests, or not at all with Parent-Approved contacts mode; links don't work because there's no browser support; and many apps don't allow login because they require browser/Google account access) Significant lag more often than 4 Pro and more than typical Having owned both the 4 and 4 Pro, your extra $50 are dollars well-spent in getting the 4 Pro: it's more premium (Samsung is well-known and respected; who has ever heard of Nuu??), offers more flexibility and future-proofing (since the 4 Pro can add on apps IF desired, but the 4 CANNOT), and the plan pricing is the same for both anyway. People say that iPhones have more control as a parent and thus safer, but they're really easy to get around (I have experienced this with my 6yo). Samsung has Samsung Kids mode, which is much better, but it still allowed my son to download games from the Kids launcher, aside from ones I assigned. (At the moment, I use Bitdefender’s app lock, which requires my fingerprint for the browser and app stores, and this so far has fixed that issue). I recommend Gabb, 10/10 as long as none of the things mentioned above are a major deal breaker), but go with the 4 Pro (even if your kids are younger still but old enough to want a phone, since you don't have to add apps). Full Disclaimer: *former* customer of almost 1.5 years from Oct 2023 to Mar 2025 and *former* employee for 6 months during that time. We started with a Gabb Watch 3 which had some issues but with help, we were able to get it fixed. All in all, Gabb does a great job at keeping your kids out of places they shouldn't be. Naturally kids will find ways to get into what they shouldn't (GroupMe and Canvas are allowed and yet at one point kids could access Youtube videos somehow outside of what is shared on them).

Phone works great for my daughter who we didn't want access to social media yet