Wristalk Support

What is Wristalk?

Wristalk is a walkie-talkie for families on Apple Watch and iPhone. Hold the talk button, speak, and let go — the people in the conversation hear you right away. You can talk one-to-one or in groups, and parents decide who their children can talk to.

What do I need?

• An Apple Watch with watchOS 26 or later, or an iPhone with iOS 26 or later.
• An internet connection on each watch or iPhone (Wi-Fi or cellular).
• An Apple Account to Sign in with Apple. Wristalk doesn't ask for an email address or phone number.

The iPhone app is optional: it's the comfortable place to manage people, groups and kids' settings, but everything also works on the watch.

Which Apple Watch models are supported?

• Live through the speaker: Apple Watch SE (3rd generation), Series 10, 11 and 12, Ultra 2, 3 and 4. While Wristalk is on, incoming voice plays automatically.
• With notifications or headphones: Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Series 6, 7 and 8, and other models that run watchOS 26. The full app works. Messages play live while Wristalk is open on screen, or with Bluetooth headphones connected; otherwise you get a notification and tap it to listen.
• Not supported: watches that can't run watchOS 26.

Does my child need an iPhone?

No. The watch app is complete on its own and works on Apple Watch set up with Family Setup. Install Wristalk from the App Store on the watch, sign in with the child's Apple Account, and join your family with an invite code. You manage your child's settings from your own iPhone or watch.

How do I invite someone?

Create an invite code in Wristalk. On iPhone you can send it via Messages or show it as a QR code; on the watch you can share it via Messages or Mail, or show it large on screen so the other person can type it in.

A code has 8 characters, works once and is valid for 48 hours. The other person opens the link on their iPhone or enters the code in Wristalk (on the watch: Enter code or I have a code).

How do approvals work for children?

Every child in Wristalk has one or more guardians — the adults who look after their settings. By default, when a child wants to invite someone, accept an invite or create a group, it becomes a request to the guardians. A new device for a child needs a guardian's approval too.

Guardians get a notification on their watch and iPhone with Approve and Deny buttons. Pending requests are also listed on iPhone under Kids → Approvals and on the watch under Requests. The child can see who approved what.

For each child, guardians can choose whether they may invite new people, accept invites and create groups (never, with approval, or freely), who can add them to groups, and at which hours Wristalk may play messages.

Can we talk with people outside our family?

Yes. Contacts can come from other families — friends, grandparents, neighbours. For children, each new contact needs a guardian's approval unless the guardian has allowed otherwise.

How do I talk?

Open a contact or group, hold the big talk button, speak, and let go. A short sound and haptic tell you when you can speak. One person talks at a time; a talk lasts up to 30 seconds. If you prefer, turn on tap to talk (tap once to start, once to stop).

Why do I sometimes have to tap a notification to hear a message?

Apple Watch only lets an app receive voice live while that app is actively playing audio. When you switch Wristalk on on a supported watch, Wristalk stays ready and plays incoming voice automatically.

In these cases Wristalk uses notify mode instead — you get a notification that someone is talking, and you tap it to listen:

• Wristalk is switched off, or the auto-off timer has ended.
• The battery guard switched to notifications because the battery is low.
• The watch can't play in the background through its speaker (older models) and no headphones are connected.
• Notify instead is chosen under Settings → Delivery.
• On a child's watch: it's outside the allowed hours a guardian has set.

After you tap and listen, Wristalk plays live again while it stays active.

What happens if someone misses my message?

A message is kept, encrypted, until everyone has played it — for 10 minutes at the latest (or 1 hour or 24 hours, if the person who created the group chose a longer time). If someone didn't hear it in time, you get a notification that they didn't hear your message, and they see a “missed” marker in the conversation.

What do the battery guard and auto-off timer do?

Playing live keeps the watch listening, which uses more battery. The battery guard switches from auto-play to notifications when the battery drops below a level you choose (20 % by default); charging pauses the guard. The auto-off timer turns Wristalk off after 2 hours, 4 hours or tonight.

You find both in the watch's Settings. On a child's watch, the guardian sets the battery guard (on iPhone under Kids).

How much does Wristalk cost?

Wristalk is free to download. To talk, your family needs the Family Pass: the first week is free, then it's a yearly subscription that renews automatically. The price is shown in the App Store in your currency before you confirm.

Does everyone in the family have to buy it?

No. The Family Pass supports Apple's Family Sharing, so the members of your Apple family group get it without buying it again (subscription sharing must be turned on in your Family Sharing settings).

How do I cancel the subscription?

Apple handles the subscription. On iPhone, open Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Wristalk and tap Cancel Subscription — or in Wristalk on iPhone, go to Settings → Family Pass → Manage subscription.

Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date to avoid being charged for the next year. You keep the Family Pass until the end of the period you paid for. Only the person who bought it can cancel it, and deleting the app does not cancel it. If you cancel during the free week, access may end right away.

Can I get a refund?

Because Apple processes all payments, refunds are handled by Apple. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.

I have the Family Pass, but Wristalk doesn't recognise it.

Make sure you're signed in to the App Store with the Apple Account that bought it (or one in the same Apple family), then tap Restore purchases on the Family Pass screen. If that doesn't help, email us.

Can you listen to our messages?

No. Voice is encrypted on your devices before it leaves them, and only the devices of the people in the conversation have the keys. Our server only passes on and briefly stores encrypted data. To check that nobody swapped a key, compare the safety number with a contact: on iPhone under People, on the watch in the conversation details (Show safety number).

What our server does see — for example who talks to whom and when — is explained in the privacy policy.

How do I delete my data?

• iPhone: Settings → Privacy → Delete my account…
• Watch: Settings → Privacy → Delete my data
• For a child (guardians): on iPhone, Kids → the child → Delete all of [name]'s data…

Your profile, contacts, group memberships and devices are removed right away; the remaining records are erased within 30 days. If you are the last guardian of a child, delete the child's data first. Deleting your account does not cancel the Family Pass — cancel it in your App Store settings.

How do I report someone?

If someone makes you or your child uncomfortable or misuses Wristalk, report it to us — with Report in the app, or by email to hello@wristalk.app with the person's display name, the conversation and roughly when it happened. Because voice is end-to-end encrypted, we can't listen to messages; we act on your report and on the information our server has (such as who talked to whom and when). Reports are kept for 90 days.

You can leave a group at any time, and guardians decide which contacts a child has. If someone is in danger, contact your local emergency services first.