Kids smartwatches with calling look almost the same in photos. Round or square, a colourful strap, a small display. The differences are on the inside and in what happens after you buy. Who can call your child, where their location data goes, who sorts out the SIM for you and how long the battery lasts.
We design and sell KLOKI watches ourselves, so we use them as our example. But the eight questions below apply to any smart watch for kids, and you can ask them about other brands too.
1. Who can call your child
Start with the reason you’re buying the watch in the first place. Your family should be able to get through, and nobody else.
Most watches have a list of approved numbers. Ask how it works. If the watch has an ordinary phone number, your child can give it out to anyone. Back in 2017, the Norwegian Consumer Council found watches where the list of approved numbers didn’t work reliably.
With KLOKI, every call goes through our switchboard, which only connects contacts you’ve approved in the app. Nobody knows the watch’s real number. We explain how this works in our article on how calls are routed through the KLOKI European switchboard.
2. Where the data is kept and who makes the app
The watch knows where your child is. That information has to be stored somewhere, and you should know where.
This is often the weak spot of cheap watches. In 2025, security researchers at TU Darmstadt discovered that in a widespread brand of kids’ watches, a single key extracted from one watch gave access to every watch of the same type. An attacker could read chats, listen to voice messages and change the location the watch reported.
What to ask: who runs the servers and in which country, who develops the app, whether communication is encrypted and whether you can delete the account along with its data. Most comparison articles don’t cover this at all.
KLOKI develops the Findee Kids app in-house, and the data stays on our servers in the EU.
3. Eavesdropping is not a feature
Some watches boast about “remote listening”. A parent calls, the watch quietly switches on its microphone and the child has no idea. Some review sites even list it as a plus.
In Germany, the federal regulator Bundesnetzagentur banned the sale of such watches in 2017. It classed them as prohibited listening devices and said in a press release that, according to its findings, parents had used them to listen in on teachers during lessons, for example. And even without the law, there’s a simpler question: would you want your child to find out one day that you’d been secretly listening to them?
KLOKI watches have no eavesdropping or remote photo function, and they never will. We don’t want kids’ watches to become a tool for monitoring teachers or classmates.
4. SIM: who sorts it out
A smartwatch with calling needs a SIM card. With most watches, you buy one yourself from a mobile operator. Then you have to work out whether it supports data, how to disable the PIN and what to do if the watch and the SIM don’t get on. In online discussions, parents often ask whether the watch will even work with their mobile network.
KLOKI watches come with the SIM already fitted at the factory. No trip to a phone shop, nothing to set up. Switch the watch on, scan the QR code with the app and approve your contacts. All you pay is the subscription in the app, and the first month is free.
5. Battery: how long it lasts and how to save it
Battery life depends mainly on how the watch is used. Frequent location requests, taking photos and long calls use the most energy. So it’s worth checking whether the watch can save power, for example by switching off at night or letting you set how often it sends its location.
KLOKI Moon lasts up to 5 days on a single charge, KLOKI Star up to 3 days. Both switch off at night, and in the app you choose how often they send their location. You’ll find a few more tips in our article on making your watch battery last longer.
6. Location: GPS, Wi‑Fi and the mobile network
Outdoors, GPS gives the most accurate location. Inside buildings, at school or in a shopping centre, though, the satellite signal often can’t get through. That’s why a good kids GPS watch can also work out its location from nearby Wi‑Fi networks and the mobile network.
KLOKI watches can do all of this and automatically pick whichever source is most accurate at the time. You can request the location in the app at any time, or have it sent automatically. Find out more about how location tracking works on KLOKI watches.
7. Your language, on the watch too
Check that it’s not just the app but also the watch menu that’s in a language your child understands. In a foreign-language menu, a child soon gets lost. And check who will help you if something goes wrong. Support in English and warranty claims handled directly by us will save you a lot of stress.
8. School mode
At school, the watch mustn’t be a distraction. So look for a school mode that silences the watch automatically according to the timetable and switches it back to normal after lessons.
With KLOKI, you set the days and times in the app to match the timetable. During those hours the watch doesn’t beep or vibrate, and only SOS and location work. Your child doesn’t have to take it off and can be reached again as soon as school is over. Read more about school mode.
What about age?
KLOKI Moon is for children aged 3 to 9, KLOKI Star for ages 3 to 10. A watch is most useful when your child starts spending time without you, for example when they walk to school on their own for the first time.
Quick checklist before you buy
- Only approved contacts can get through.
- I know where the data is kept and who makes the app.
- The watch has no hidden eavesdropping feature.
- I don’t have to get hold of a SIM or set it up.
- The watch can save battery, for example by switching off at night.
- Location works indoors too, thanks to GPS, Wi‑Fi and the mobile network.
- The watch menu is in my child’s language.
- The watch has a school mode.
KLOKI watches tick all eight boxes. Take a look at KLOKI Moon for younger children and a first watch, or KLOKI Star, which also takes photos and videos and plays music. You have 30 days to try them out.
