Co-parenting Apps
A co-parenting app is a way to communicate with the other parent. Co-parenting apps can be useful in situations where text messages and phone calls have been used to harass one parent. You can restrict communication to the app, and it records everything.
Some of our local judges order parties to use co-parenting apps.
Common features
Most co-parenting apps include:
A calendar you can share to help plan contact and a way to request changes
A place to share health information or school information
Photo sharing
A method of sending messages that ensures that those messages are tamper-proof and can be printed for use in court (as opposed to using mobile phones where messages can be deleted)
Confirms when a message was first seen
GPS to show you arrived at contact handovers on time
Video and audio calling for contact including call recording
A tone-checker to help you revise your messages so as not to inflame a situation
A printable record of communication
Request money for child-related expenses
The court can order you to use a co-parenting app or you can decide to do so together.
It can be good evidence if there is a dispute about how someone is behaving.
You can get accounts for third parties such as grandparents or even social workers or cafcass officers (if the court has asked them to do this work).
Cost
The apps will cost money - around £100 per year (but you can pay monthly if you prefer). You each need to pay this (with the exception of 2Houses where you share the subscription).
Some app providers have low cost plans for those who don’t have much money.
The most popular apps
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Our Family Wizard
Our Family Wizard has all of the features we’ve said are common. It’s the most widely used app in the UK. You can download a template court order if you want to ask the court to order that it be used.
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2 Houses
Popular in Europe, 2Houses has many of the common features we’ve mentioned. It has a shared calendar, expenses function, secure messaging and a place to add photos and other information including medical info. You can add school term dates and sync with other calendars such as Google and Outlook.
Access can be shared with a third party. It’s the cheapest of the apps but there’s not much in it.
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Talking Parent
Talking Parent is mainly a communications tool that offers secure recording of messages with a read receipt and a calendar, as well as other useful information. It is a co-parenting log. It has some features to help check the tone of messages.
It is billed in US dollars although it does have a UK site. Records are downloadable but there’s no third party access.