Children's Day is a good moment to look again at the phone or tablet in a child's hands and ask whether it is teaching anything. For young children, the answer depends less on the subject than on how the app works. India's curriculum framework for the foundational years puts it in four words: "Play is a child's work". The National Education Policy 2020 wants the foundational stage, from age three to eight, built on play and activity-based learning, and NCERT's Jaadui Pitara, a kit of playbooks, toys, puzzles and story books for children aged three to eight, is the same idea in a box.
Screens can support this or crowd it out. The same framework lists digital puzzles and games as learning material, as long as children are not overexposed to screens and the teacher stays at the centre. So for this Children's Day pick, we looked for apps where the play is the lesson itself, not a reward handed out after a worksheet.
How We Chose
We looked at a dozen apps for children aged roughly 4 to 12 and kept five. Each one had to pass these tests:
- The play is the learning. The child reads, builds, codes or explores, instead of collecting points for finishing drills.
- It is free, or the cost is clear before you start.
- It shows no ads and does not nudge the child to buy upgrades.
- Its data practices hold up. We read each app's Data safety section on Google Play and its privacy policy.
- It runs on an ordinary Android phone, ideally offline, and in Indian languages where possible.
- Together, the five cover different ages and skills.
Some popular apps did not make the list because they sell upgrades inside a game built for children, or because their privacy policy says little about how children's data is handled.
Chimple Kids Learning
Ages: 3 to 8 · Skills: English, Hindi, early maths · Cost: free, no ads, no in-app purchases
Chimple is built by a non-profit in Bengaluru. A child traces letters and numbers, plays phonics games and works through number activities up to 1,000, with an animated avatar as a guide and levels that adjust as the child improves. It is available in English and Hindi, as well as French, runs on Android and works without the internet once downloaded.
Its track record is unusual for a free app. Chimple was one of five finalists in the Global Learning XPRIZE, in which the finalists' software was field-tested with nearly 3,000 children across 170 villages in Tanzania over 15 months, and each finalist received $1 million. Its code is open source, and its privacy policy states that it does not sell personal data or use children's data for advertising.
Keep in mind: it is Android only, and Hindi is its only Indian language so far.
Read Along by Google
Ages: 5 and above · Skills: reading aloud, in English and Indian languages · Cost: free, no ads
Most reading apps ask a child to tap. Read Along asks them to read out loud. As the child reads a story, Diya, the in-app helper, listens and steps in when a word is difficult, and progress earns stars, badges and word games. Google lists English and seven Indian languages, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Urdu, and says the app is part of state government programmes in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat.
The Android app works offline once it is downloaded. On privacy, Google says voice data is primarily processed on the phone, is sent to its servers only temporarily and in limited cases, and is not stored after processing. In an assessment Google commissioned across five states, it reports that 40% more students who used Read Along improved by one or more reading levels.
Keep in mind: there is no iPhone or iPad app, and the web version needs an internet connection and a Google sign-in.
ScratchJr
Ages: 5 to 7 · Skills: coding, sequencing, storytelling · Cost: free, no ads, no account
ScratchJr turns children from watchers into makers. They snap together picture-based programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance and sing, then paint their own characters and record their own voices to tell stories and build simple games. It was created by researchers at Tufts University and the MIT Media Lab with the Playful Invention Company, and is now maintained by a research group at Boston College with the Scratch Foundation.
It runs on Android tablets, iPads and Chromebooks, needs no account, and keeps children's projects on the device instead of uploading them. In a 2019 study by researchers from the team behind the app, all 57 children from kindergarten to Class 2 picked up the foundational coding concepts after a six-week ScratchJr course, although how well they understood them differed by class.
Keep in mind: the interface comes in 20 languages, none of them Indian, so younger children will need an adult close by at the start. The app also collects basic analytics data.
Khan Academy Kids
Ages: 2 to 8 · Skills: reading, phonics, maths, early writing · Cost: free, no ads, no subscriptions
Khan Academy Kids is the broadest of the five. It offers more than 5,000 games, books and activities, from ABC games and phonics to counting, addition and shapes, led by a cast of animal characters, and it grows with the child from preschool to Class 2. Books and games can be downloaded for use without the internet.
It comes from the non-profit Khan Academy, and its privacy policy says it does not display advertising or sell personal information. On Google Play, it declares no data shared with third parties. In a randomised trial in the United States, four- and five-year-olds from low-income families who used the app moved from the 34th percentile on pre-literacy skills to almost the national average.
Keep in mind: the app is in English, with read-aloud books in English or Spanish, so it suits children who are already comfortable with English.
Orboot Earth AR by PlayShifu
Ages: 4 to 10, as the globe is listed · Skills: geography, animals, world cultures · Cost: free app; the globe is sold separately
Orboot is the one pick that takes play off the flat screen. It pairs a physical globe, printed without names or borders, with a free app. The child scans any part of the globe with a phone or tablet to bring up animals, monuments, inventions, cultures, cuisines and maps in 3D, then takes a quiz on what they have found. Turning a real globe in their hands gets children moving, and it is easy for a parent or sibling to join in.
On Google Play, the app declares no data shared with third parties and works offline after the first download, and PlayShifu's privacy policy says its apps collect only anonymised analytics data. The globe is listed at ₹1,999 on Flipkart, and sellers often discount it. The iPhone and iPad version offers optional paid add-ons.
Keep in mind: without the globe the app has little to offer, and it is in English only.
At a Glance
| App | Ages | Main skill | Cost | Ads / in-app purchases | Offline | Indian languages | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chimple Kids Learning | 3–8 | English, Hindi, maths | Free | None | Yes | Hindi | Android |
| Read Along by Google | 5+ | Reading aloud | Free | None | Yes, on Android | Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu | Android, web |
| ScratchJr | 5–7 | Coding, storytelling | Free | None | Projects stay on the device | None | Android tablets, iPad, Chromebook |
| Khan Academy Kids | 2–8 | Reading, phonics, maths | Free | None | Downloaded books and games | None | Android, iPhone, iPad |
| Orboot Earth AR | 4–10 | Geography, world cultures | Free app; globe listed at ₹1,999 | Optional add-ons on iOS | Yes, after download | None | Android, iPhone, iPad |
A Note on Screen Time
Even the best of these apps works within limits. The Indian Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screens for children under two. From two up to five, it suggests a maximum of one hour a day, always supervised and in sessions of no more than 20 to 30 minutes. For children aged five to ten, it recommends less than two hours a day, schoolwork included. It also advises against screens during meals and in the hour before sleep. The World Health Organization's guidance for children under five sets the same one-hour ceiling for two- to four-year-olds.
Privacy rules are tightening too. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act treats everyone under 18 as a child and bars tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising aimed at children, with penalties of up to ₹200 crore. The rules that put these duties into practice take effect around May 2027. Until then, the Data safety section of an app's store listing and its privacy policy are the best checks a parent has.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much screen time is right for a young child?
The Indian Academy of Pediatrics recommends at most one hour a day, supervised and in short sessions, for children aged two to five, and less than two hours a day for children aged five to ten, including screen time for schoolwork.
Are these learning apps really free?
Chimple, Read Along, ScratchJr and Khan Academy Kids are free on Google Play in India, with no ads and no in-app purchases. The Orboot app is free, but it needs the Orboot globe, which is bought separately.
Which of these apps work in Indian languages?
Read Along supports English and seven Indian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Urdu. Chimple works in English and Hindi. ScratchJr, Khan Academy Kids and Orboot are English-led.
Can children use these apps without the internet?
Chimple, Read Along on Android and Orboot work offline once downloaded, and Khan Academy Kids lets you download books and games in advance. ScratchJr stores children's projects on the device itself.
How can parents check whether a learning app is safe for children?
Look at the Data safety section on the app's Google Play listing and read its privacy policy. Check whether it shows ads, whether it shares data with third parties, and whether it asks for a parent's permission before collecting a child's details.
