Barnluren launches Pioneer Beta Program

Stockholm, April 2026

Swedish startup Barnluren invites 10 families to pioneer a private phone network for children.

Barnluren, a Swedish startup building a private voice network for children, today opened applications for its Pioneer Beta Program. The company is seeking 10 families to be the first to introduce Barnluren to their communities.

Each selected pioneer will receive 10 Barnluren devices to distribute among connected families — children in the same school class or friend group. The program is designed to validate whether a network of children using simple landline phones can build the kind of independent social connections that disappeared when the family landline was replaced by smartphones.

"Somewhere along the way, we threw the baby out with the bathwater," says co-founder Greg Chrystall. "Children lost the ability to pick up a phone and call a friend. Barnluren is how we give that back."

The pioneer program is free for three months, including the device. Barnluren is a closed private network — no connection to the public phone system, no internet access, and no ability for anyone not on the parent-approved contact list to reach a child. Family members use a free iOS or Android app to call and receive calls.

The program comes as Sweden prepares to implement a national school phone ban in August 2026, and amid growing international momentum to delay children's smartphone access. Grassroots movements such as Ki-DS (Sweden) and Smartphone Free Childhood (UK) now represent hundreds of thousands of parents across dozens of countries.

Barnluren was founded in 2025 in Stockholm by Greg Chrystall and Ivan Soltic. The company designs its own hardware and firmware and is working with Mitac AB to manufacture devices in Sweden.

Families can apply to the Pioneer Beta Program at barnluren.com/pioneer.

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