Seatbelt on. Phone locked. Every drive — enforced, not requested.

When the vehicle reaches 20 MPH (32 km/h), BuckledApp asks for a quick selfie. In about 2.5 seconds, AI checks the image for a fastened seatbelt across the chest and shoulder and, from the camera angle and seating position, determines whether the person is the driver or a passenger. No belt means the distracting apps stay locked. A passing check for a passenger unlocks everything immediately; for a driver it starts Driver Focus for the rest of the drive. The photo is analyzed for the check only and is never shown to parents or organizations.

It does not need to. BuckledApp enforces the rules on the phone itself — the seatbelt is verified and distracting apps are locked whether or not anyone is watching — and reports the result. Parents on Safety+ see, for each child, that BuckledApp is on, that the last seatbelt check passed and when, and that protection is set up correctly, with an alert if it is switched off. Location and motion permissions are used on the phone only to measure speed and detect when a drive starts and stops; a live map or route history is not part of the product, which is a big reason teens keep it running.

Yes. Emergency calling is never blocked, and the Phone app remains available for calls. Navigation apps such as Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze, plus music and podcast apps, stay accessible during Driver Focus. Only distracting apps — social media, video and games — are locked while the vehicle is moving, and they unlock automatically once the car has stopped.

Driver Focus is the mode BuckledApp enters after the seatbelt check identifies the phone’s owner as the driver. Distracting apps stay locked for the whole drive. When the vehicle has stopped and you have left the car, or after a short countdown at a full stop, the lock lifts automatically. There is no button to skip it — that is the point.

TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, games and similar apps. On iPhone, BuckledApp uses Apple’s Screen Time (Family Controls) framework and you choose which apps stay available while driving. On Android you pick a list of safe apps and everything else is shielded during a drive.

A day counts toward your streak when BuckledApp is switched on and every seatbelt check that day passes. Streaks never reward distance or speed — we do not want anyone to drive more, or faster, to earn points. Miss a day and the streak can be restored within 48 hours (free once, then with Safety+).

Yes. Seatbelt verification, Driver Focus and streaks are free for individual drivers. Safety+ adds more frequent seatbelt checks, live child status for parents, a driver exception for adults who drive alone, and up to 5 managed sub-accounts, with a 3-day free trial. Organizations and fleets get volume pricing and an admin dashboard.

Yes. Fleet operators, schools and teams distribute a single organization code. Every driver who joins has protection turned on automatically and cannot switch it off, and the fleet dashboard shows who has finished setup, who is signed out, and each driver’s last seatbelt check.