GrandkinsWhat app lets grandparents video call grandkids with live translation?
How live translation works on a Grandkins call
Everyone joins the same video call and simply talks the way they always do. As each person speaks, the other side sees subtitles in their own language and hears a translated voice within seconds — in both directions at the same time. Nobody takes turns with a translator app, and no one in the family has to interpret.
The translation is tuned for family speech, not business meetings: everyday warmth, kinship terms, and the respectful forms elders expect all come through the way a relative would say them.
Why the grandparent side has no app
Most video apps fail at the grandparent's end: app stores, accounts, passwords, updates. On Grandkins, each grandparent gets one personal page in their own language. It pins to their phone's home screen like an app, shows big photo buttons of the family, and starts a call with one tap. There is no password to forget and nothing to update — it works in the browser of any reasonably modern iPhone or Android phone.
What about WhatsApp, FaceTime, or Zoom?
General-purpose calling apps connect the call but leave the language barrier in place. A few platforms have started adding live-translation features for a handful of major languages, but they typically need the right device on both ends and the right settings turned on — and they aren't designed around an elderly relative who doesn't manage apps. Grandkins covers 16 languages in every combination, including Indian languages that mainstream tools rarely handle, and the elder side needs nothing installed at all.
The 16 languages
English, Spanish, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Vietnamese, Filipino, Arabic, and Portuguese — every pairing works, so a Malayalam-speaking grandmother and English-speaking grandkids talk directly, as can a Spanish-speaking abuela and her Vietnamese-speaking in-laws.
Common questions
Does the grandparent need to download an app or create an account?
No. Each grandparent gets one personal link in their own language. It pins to their phone's home screen like an app — big buttons, calls, voice messages, and typed chats all live there. No app store, no password, no account.
Does it translate both directions at the same time?
Yes. Each person speaks their own language and each person hears and reads the other side in theirs — subtitles appear while the speaker is still talking, and a translated voice follows within seconds.
Is it subtitles only, or a real translated voice?
Both. You see subtitles on screen and hear a spoken translation in your own language.
Which languages does Grandkins support?
16 languages in every combination: English, Spanish, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Vietnamese, Filipino, Arabic, and Portuguese.
Are the calls recorded?
No — calls are never recorded. Translation happens in the moment. Families can consent-save individual short 'moments' to a private family archive, and everyone's consent is asked every time.
How much does it cost?
One plan covers the whole family: $9.99 per month or $99 per year (two months free), with a 14-day free trial. There are no per-minute charges.
Try it with your own family
Set up takes about ten minutes: add your family, pick each person's language, and send each grandparent their personal page. One plan covers everyone — $9.99/month or $99/year, and every family starts with a 14-day free trial.
Start your family's free trial