Full disclosure first: we make Sayph, so read this knowing where we stand. OtherPhone deserves a fair hearing – it’s a serious product co-designed with Mumsnet users, built on genuinely nice Nothing hardware, with clever AI content-filtering technology behind it. It has had glowing press, and even Tim Berners-Lee has pointed to it as an alternative to open smartphones. If it’s the right phone for your child, we’ll say so plainly below.
The two phones represent the two honest answers to the same question: what do you do about the risky parts of a smartphone? OtherPhone’s answer is allow and filter. Sayph’s answer is leave them off entirely. Everything else follows from that.
The short version
OtherPhone is a filtered smartphone. It’s built on the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite, and its SafetyMode software does something genuinely novel: it scans what’s on screen in real time and blocks harmful content – nudity, explicit language, adult material – inside any app, including WhatsApp, Snapchat and YouTube. Apps are parent-approved and schedulable. Your child can have the apps their friends have, with a safety net running underneath.
Sayph is a deliberately simple phone. No app store, no browser, no WhatsApp, no social media – not filtered, absent. Calls, messages and essentials like maps, music and camera, with contacts you approve and a parent portal that keeps you in the picture. There’s nothing to filter because the risky surfaces aren’t there.
Side by side
| Sayph | OtherPhone | |
|---|---|---|
| Phone cost | £189 one-off | £279 one-off (Nothing Phone (3a) Lite) |
| Monthly subscription | £4.99/mo (Sayph Space) | £5.99/mo SafetyMode Plus (first 3 months free); basic SafetyMode is free |
| SIM | Any UK network, bring your own | Sold separately, any UK network |
| WhatsApp / social media | Not available, by design | Can be allowed by parents, with live AI content filtering |
| App store | None – apps cannot be added by anyone | Apps parent-approved and parent-installed only |
| How safety works | Risky surfaces removed from the phone | AI scans the screen in real time and blocks harmful content the moment it appears |
| Contacts | Parent-approved only | Parental controls over contact permissions |
| Message oversight | AI summaries + portal visibility; auto-deleted after 30 days | Live filtering on-device; alerts when harmful content is detected (Plus) |
| Data | Encrypted, visible only to you, deleted ≤30 days, never sold or used to train AI | Safety data stored on device |
| Location | Real-time via parent portal | Remote location via SafetyMode Plus |
| Hardware | Android smartphone, pre-configured with Sayph OS | Nothing Phone (3a) Lite – a phone with real playground cachet |
| Backing | Built by UK parents; MadeForMums Gold 2026; reviewed by Smartphone Free Childhood | Co-designed with Mumsnet; Nothing Technology hardware |
Prices checked July 2026; confirm current pricing on both sites before deciding.
Where OtherPhone is the better choice
- Your child is older or already deep in the group-chat world, and pulling WhatsApp away entirely would cost more socially than you’re willing to spend. OtherPhone lets them keep it with a filter watching the screen.
- Handset desirability matters a lot in your house. The Nothing hardware is genuinely cool, and for some children that’s the difference between a phone they carry and a phone that lives in a drawer.
- You want a gradual dial, not a line. SafetyMode’s controls are built to ease open app by app, hour by hour, as trust grows.
Where Sayph is the better choice
- You don’t want your child’s social world to run through group chats at all yet. A filter can catch explicit content; it can’t catch exclusion, pile-ons, 3am notifications or the pressure of being always-on. Ofcom finds group chats are among the most common places children are bullied online – the harm isn’t only in what’s on the screen, it’s in the dynamic. Removing the surface removes the dynamic.
- You’d rather not depend on detection. Real-time AI filtering is impressive technology, and it’s also a cat-and-mouse game by nature. Sayph has nothing to detect because there’s nothing to filter. Simpler systems fail less.
- Budget matters. £189 vs £279 upfront, and a slightly cheaper subscription. Over two years, roughly £309 vs £417 before SIM costs.
- You want the decision to stay yours for years, not months. OtherPhone is designed to open up progressively. Sayph is designed to hold the simple stage for as long as your family wants it – often to secondary school’s later years.
How to decide
The honest question: is your child already in the app world, or are you still deciding whether to open that door? If they’re already in it and you need to make it safer, OtherPhone is a thoughtful way to do that. If the door is still shut and your instinct is to keep it shut a while longer, don’t buy a filtered version of the thing you’re trying to delay – that’s the gap Sayph exists to fill.
For the wider picture, our complete guide to phones for kids covers every option, and WhatsApp and your child unpacks what actually sits behind the green icon.
Frequently asked questions
What is OtherPhone?
A child-safety smartphone from SafetyMode, co-designed with Mumsnet and built on the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite. It costs £279 with three months of SafetyMode Plus included, then £5.99/month.
Does Sayph filter content like OtherPhone does?
No – and that’s the core difference. OtherPhone allows apps and filters harmful content inside them in real time. Sayph doesn’t include those apps at all, so there’s nothing to filter. One manages risk; the other removes the surface the risk lives on.
Which is better for an 11-year-old starting secondary school?
It depends on your line. If you’ve decided they’ll have WhatsApp and want it made safer, OtherPhone. If you’ve agreed – perhaps with other families – to hold off on social apps entirely, Sayph is built for exactly that promise. Our guide to the best phone for a 10 or 11 year old goes deeper.
Is a content filter enough to keep a child safe on WhatsApp?
It helps with what appears on screen – nudity, explicit content, harmful language. It can’t address group-chat exclusion, social pressure, or the always-on pull of messaging itself. Decide which of those you’re most worried about; that decides the phone.
Sayph is £189 with free UK delivery, plus £4.99/month for the Sayph Space parent portal. See how Sayph works or order today.
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