Photos & media
Allow or block image sharing — and everything sent is scanned before it lands.
AllowedFamily-safe social, reimagined
A social world built for under-16s— with you holding the keys.
Forward is a private messaging network where parents add the accounts, approve every friend, and choose how much privacy each child has earned. Oversight when it matters. Room to grow when it's earned.
- COPPA
- UK Online Safety Act
- GDPR-K
The model
A different kind of network.
Built around the family, not the algorithm.
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01
Create your family
You sign up, then add an account for each child beneath yours. They never register alone — you hold the keys.
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02
Add friends by username
Add a friend by their username and pick which child it's for. No feeds, no search for kids, no "people you may know" — and both families approve before a word is sent.
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03
Choose Open or Masked
Decide how much privacy each child has earned. Open shows you everything; Masked keeps content private until you look — and is only on when both families agree.
The heart of Forward
Privacy that's real.
Oversight that's honest.
Masked conversations are agreed by the parents on both sides. You see that messages are flowing — who, and when — but not what they say. When you need to, an unmask reveals the whole exchange, and everyone sees who looked: “viewed by Jess's mum.” No one is ever read in silence.
Tap any blurred message to request an unmask.
M
Maya & JessYour view · Parent
Masked
Are you coming to mine after school?
yeah! mum said it's fine 🙌
don't tell anyone but I'm a bit nervous about the test tmrw 😅
you'll smash it, promise x
🔒 Content hidden. You can unmask any message.
Set the boundaries
Different rules for different ages.
Tuned for each child.
Voice calls
Turn voice calling on or off per child, with the same friends-only rules.
AllowedVideo calls
Face-to-face only when you say so. Off until they're ready for it.
OffGroup chats
Let your child into group conversations — or keep things one-to-one for now.
AllowedStories
Allow 24-hour Stories for friends. Always visible to you, with 7-day history.
OffCheck In alerts
Get a gentle nudge if a masked chat looks like it needs you — never the words.
AllowedQuiet hours
Messaging pauses outside the hours you choose — no buzzing through bedtime or class.
On
07:00 – 20:00
🌙
☀️
More of Forward
A real social life.
With the edges kept safe.
💛
Maybe check in?Jess's chat looks a little off today.
Check In
We watch for trouble, not for gossip.
Our safety AI quietly reads the room in masked chats and nudges you when something seems wrong — bullying, worry, pressure. It tells you to look; it never shows you the words.
Stories
Moments that vanish — except for you.
Switch on Stories and your child can share photos and videos with friends that disappear after 24 hours. They're always visible to you, and a 7-day history keeps every story reviewable long after it's gone.
J
L
A
+2
Masked · every parent agreed
Group chats
Group chats, on your terms.
Open or Masked, just like one-to-one — and a group is only Masked when every parent agrees. Not ready yet? Switch group chats off for your child with a single tap.
Safe by construction
Strangers can't get in.
It isn't a setting — it's the architecture.
🛡️
No discovery engine
No feed, no search, no “people you may know”. Friends are added by username — by a parent — and never surfaced to a child.
🤝
Two-sided approval
Every friendship needs a yes from the guardians on both sides before a single message can be sent.
🔍
Media scanned on arrival
Images are checked for known-illegal and unsafe content before they're ever delivered.
👁️
Every read is logged
Unmasking writes a permanent record and tells your child. Oversight you can both trust.
“Your child is never read in silence.”
Bring your family to Forward.
We're onboarding families in waves. Join the early-access list and we'll be in touch as places open.
Good questions
The things parents ask first.
Does my child know when I read their messages?
Yes — always. In Masked mode, every unmask writes a permanent record and shows your child a “Seen by you” marker. There is no way to read a masked message in silence.
Can strangers contact my child?
No. Friends are added by a parent using the other child's username, and every friendship needs approval from the guardians on both sides. There's no search, no feed and no recommendations for children — a username can only ever be acted on by an adult.
What are Stories, and can I see them?
If you enable them, your child can post photos or videos that their friends can view for 24 hours. Your child's stories are always visible to you — never masked — and you can review a 7-day Story History even after they've expired.
What is Check In?
An automated safety layer that scans masked conversations for signs of distress, bullying or risk and nudges you to check in — without ever showing you the words. If you want to read, that's still a logged, child-visible unmask. You can tune it or switch it off per child.
What ages is Forward for?
It's built for under-16s. You decide, per child, whether conversations start Open or Masked — and you can adjust the balance as they grow and earn more privacy.
Can I limit photos or calls?
Yes, independently for each child. Toggle photos, voice and video calls, and set quiet hours when messaging pauses — bedtime, school, whenever suits your family.
Where is our data kept?
On Cloudflare's global network, with regional data controls where required. We collect the minimum we need and support full family data export and deletion.
When can we join?
We're rolling out to families in waves. Request early access above and we'll let you know the moment a place opens for you.