What's new in Ping

Your child can now video call the contacts you've approved, play with animations and stickers, and draw during the call. Video calls stay off until you turn them on.

Children can also share videos in chats, if you allow it.

Siblings can now share one device. Each child has their own profile and PIN, and simply taps their avatar when they open Ping.

• New chat themes — Children can now pick a theme for their chats, with illustrated scenes and gentle animations.

• Recommend Ping, unlock extras — When a family you recommend gets set up and starts chatting, you can both unlock more themes or an exclusive sticker pack.

• Clearer child cards — Each child's card now shows at a glance how messages, calls, sharing and quiet time are set up.

Ping is now available in European Portuguese, alongside Brazilian Portuguese. Olá!

Plus the usual fixes and improvements to keep Ping running smoothly for your family.

Calls run a little more smoothly now.

A few bugs tried to join calls in Ping. They weren't on the approved contacts list. 🐛

Voice calls are here. Your child can now call the contacts you've approved, and no one else. Calls are off until you turn them on, and you choose for each child whether they can make calls, receive calls, or both. Kids can also play fun sound effects during calls, and there's a new set of Halloween stickers. A few bugs had made themselves comfortable in the corners. We've kindly shown them out. 🐛

• New icons for chat modes — Every chat mode, from stickers to photos, has a new icon.

• A fresh look for photos and drawings — The full-screen view has a new design and a Download button.

• Ping on more than one device — Adults can now sync their chats to a second phone or tablet.

• Ping now speaks Italian — Ping is now available in Italian too. Ciao!

• Create your own avatar — Build an avatar that really looks like you. Choose the hair, eyes, glasses, beard and colours, and change them whenever you like. Everyone in the family can make their own.

• Reply to a message — Press and hold a message to reply to it directly.

Moving a child account to a new device now works the way it should.

We found a few bugs hiding in that flow and cleared them out, along with the usual small fixes and polish to keep Ping running smoothly for your family.

• Stickers and drawings for grown-ups too — In chats between grown-ups, you can now send stickers and drawings, in addition to photos and voice messages. You'll find them all behind one button now, with a fresher look.

• New icons and familiar faces — The parent navigation bar is cleaner, and each of your children now appears there with their own avatar.

• Six new sticker categories, hand-picked and child-friendly. They appear first in Stickers mode, and each category now uses one of its own stickers as its icon — so it's much easier to see what's inside.

• Share photos straight from your Photos app: tap Share, pick Ping (tap "More" if Ping isn't in the list yet), then choose a friend or a group to send it to. Done.

• If Ping can't access photos or the camera, children now get simple instructions on how to fix it — or can ask a grown-up for help with a single tap. Parents get a step-by-step guide too, so nobody has to guess.

• Photos have their own button — When you've enabled photo sharing, the photo button now sits right in the chat, next to stickers, voice messages and drawings.

• Start wherever you like — Adding family or friends, connecting a device — your child's card now shows both options at once, so you can start with whichever suits you.

• Ping now speaks Spanish — Ping is now available in Spanish too. ¡Hola!

The icons in the kids' navigation bar have a new look — rounder, warmer and easier for younger children to recognise at a glance.

• Shared media in every chat — you can now see everything shared in a chat — drawings, voice messages, and photos — all in one place. Just tap the name at the top of any chat.

• Treasures — a place for the little things worth holding on to. Kids can save their favourite drawings, voice messages, and photos to their own Treasures, a private collection just for them. Parents get a collection for each child too, so everything their child sends them can be kept together.

You can now sign in to Ping with your Google account.

• Sign in with Google — faster sign-up, no password to remember.

• We've streamlined the first few steps, so you can get your family set up more quickly.

• If a confirmation email doesn't arrive, it's now easier to correct your address and try again.

• And we've polished lots of little details behind the scenes.

Getting your family connected is now easier than ever.

• After you create your child's profile, you can invite the people they'll chat with — grandparents, relatives, friends — right away.

• Each child's card now shows you what's left to set up, so nothing gets missed.

• Clearer, friendlier wording throughout, and lots of small improvements.

We've given the chat a colourful refresh! Each way to send a message — stickers, voice, drawing and writing — now has its own colour and a clearer label, so it's easier for kids to find what they're looking for.

A few stubborn bugs had made themselves at home in Ping. We've shown them the door — everything should run a little more smoothly for your family now.

You can now connect your children directly with children from other families. Send an invitation by email or share a link, and each family chooses which of their children to connect — with no need to add each other as trusted adults first. Simple, and safe by design: every connection is parent-approved on both sides.

How parent-approved connections work →

Got a promo code? You can now redeem it directly in the app. We've also made it easier for grandparents and other trusted adults to choose a profile photo — so children recognise who they're talking to at a glance.

Walkie-talkie is here. Children can start a session with a friend or family member and talk back and forth — voice messages that auto-play in sequence, just like a real walkie-talkie. Tap the radio icon in any chat to begin. As always, parents can turn it on or off for each child individually.

See how Ping's features work →

A round of behind-the-scenes fixes and polish to keep Ping running smoothly for your family. Nothing your children will notice — which is exactly the point.