The latest edition of TP:Talks features an interview with Marjolein van Tilburg, co-founder of the Dutch company ChatLicense, which offers digital training to kids to help them learn how to use a smartphone safely. The app uses game play to teach children how to use the phone and social media responsibly, while also passing on tips to parents about settings, risks and guidelines to encourage safe digital behaviour.
As a mother and lawyer, Van Tilburg saw in her own experience how children already at a young age were using social media like TikTok and Snapchat without much awareness from parents of the risks or legal age limits. At work, we get mandatory cybersecurity training, and yet we give children a powerful digital device without any explanation, she noted.
ChatLicense was developed to remedy the situation, with the name alluding to the need to obtain a sort of 'driver's license' before using a smartphone. The app has been downloaded over 15,000 times already, in the Netherlands and Belgium, and the company is seeing growing interest from other European countries.
Education as alternative to controls
ChatLicense has been working on its educational platform since 2022. The app targets specifically the first smartphone use, before problematic behaviours can develop. The goal is to encourage digital resilience through education, rather than having to intervene later in an attempt to control children's behaviour. In the app children follow interactive modules with videos, quizzes, and scenarios mirroring common situations, such as sharing a group photo. Parents follow their own separate module with instructions about how to set up the phone and app settings and conduct conversations.
Van Tilburg said it's important that children complete the programme before they have access to popular apps like WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat or Roblox. ChatLicense gives them a natural point of departure, with a built-in understanding.
Social and telecom cooperation
ChatLicense operates under a B2B model, working with telecom providers like KPN, Odido and Telenet on distribution and promotion. With some mobile subscriptions the app is included at no extra cost. Van Tilburg stressed that it was natural for telecom operators to have an interest: if you offer a product used by many minors, instructions should be part of the package. Telecom companies also appreciate the social element, which aligns with their goals on digital security.
The company's efforts have received international recognition. In 2024 ChatLicense the Digital Wellbeing Challenge in Silicon Valley, an initiative by the markers of the documentary 'The Social Dilemma'. It beats more than 500 international competitors and received the top prize of USD 250,000. The prize helped raise its international profile and provide access to a network of researchers and policymakers.
Research and responsibility
As part of its work, the app collects anonymised data about how children experience digital media. This is shared with university researchers and non-profit organisations working on these themes. The app serves as a "thermometer for digital health" of a whole generation, Van Tilburg said.
The research comes as more and more governments are looking at whether age limits should be set for social media. ChatLicense is providing parents with their own concrete tool to start the discussion with their children. Keeping the conversation open is crucial, Van Tilburg said, as parents are not going to have automatic access to everything a 12 year-old experiences online.
The company hopes its approach can help children use the internet with empathy and awareness. Or "happy cyber vibes", as Van Tilburg calls it. At the same ChatLicense is working with organisations such as Rutgers and Off Limits to address more serious themes, such as sexual harassment, in order to make these easier to discuss.
Schools are an important means of communication, but the responsibility for bringing up children ultimately lies with the parents. ChatLicense uses local public authorities and public information campaigns to further publicise its app. Integration in the education system is still limited, but ChatLicense expects that in time digital resilience will form part of standard lessons in school.
Looking ahead, ChatLicense says France is its next market for expansion. The team also is investing in further development and personalisation, so ChatLicense can evolve in line with the next generation of internet users.
