Home Our work Zitelou

Taking back control of a first smartphone for kids

Age 6+

a first phone with no social media and no search engine

100

first users sought through the Club des 100

Refurbished

an Android smartphone given a new use

Zitelou turns a refurbished Android smartphone into a first phone for children aged 6 and up: their music, their stories, their messages and their photos, with no social media and no search engine. The phone arrives set up, and parents choose the available apps from their own space. An independent French project born from a parent’s need, Zitelou is now looking for its first 100 users through the Club des 100.

View the product

At a glance

ClientZitelou

EngagementAudit, technical takeover then co‑CPTO support, engagement in progress

SectorChildren

Technologies

Symfony
API Platform
Kotlin
Jetpack Compose
React
TypeScript
Stripe
WordPress
Docker
Coolify

Context and challenges

Zitelou already had a product in service, built before we arrived: an Android app that frames the phone, an API, a parent space and administration tools. Its founder leads the product and its technology without being a developer by trade. She first needed an independent view to know what to build on, secure the foundations and take back control of her code and hosting. Then a partner who would keep pace with her: the founder moves forward on her own with AI coding assistants, and was looking for someone to review, shed light on her choices and pass on what she needs to keep going on her own.

What we did

An audit of the existing product

The whole platform run locally to check the code in real conditions, then a diagnosis readable without a technical background: what is solid and stays, what needs to be reworked, and a prioritized roadmap, to be triggered at Zitelou’s own pace.

Secured foundations

The sensitive points raised by the audit handled first, together with the Zitelou team, before any new development.

Code and hosting back in hand

All the code gathered in a repository in Zitelou’s name, the platform moved to a server in its name, the subscription flow made reliable.

Light shed on structuring choices

How to manage and update the phones remotely, how to build a messaging app for children, what to keep and what to rework: each decision laid out with its options and consequences, so that Zitelou decides with full knowledge.

The founder builds, we review

She writes changes herself with AI coding assistants. We review each change before it goes live, the way an architect reviews plans, and our written feedback is designed to be picked up directly by her assistant.

A team that moves on its own

The founder wrote the first version of Zitelou’s messaging app and deploys her changes herself. We stay alongside for the decisions that shape what comes next.

What the client says

« TRACTR is truly the team we needed. Their positioning - more partner than provider - lets us move forward at our own pace and with peace of mind. They are part of the team, ask us the right questions and bring the tech insight we need, with a real understanding of the strategic and business challenges we may face. I highly recommend them! »