Can the Punkt MP02 access the internet?

Not directly for browsing — there’s no web browser and no app store. It can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, so you can tether a laptop when you genuinely need the internet, which keeps web use deliberate rather than constant.

Is the Punkt MP02 good for kids?

It can work as a calls-and-texts phone for a trusted teen, but it has no parental controls and the hotspot can tether another device to the internet. For younger kids who need supervised limits, a family-controlled phone or a kids’ landline is a better fit.

Pigeon is Punkt’s built-in encrypted messaging app, based on Signal. It lets the MP02 send private, end-to-end encrypted messages — a privacy feature that’s rare on a feature phone.

Punkt MP02 – WISE Score & Parent Review

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

Screenwise Verdict

The Punkt MP02 is the design world’s favorite dumbphone, and it earns the reputation. Jasper Morrison’s casing makes it feel like a considered object rather than a stripped-down compromise, and the software matches: calls, texts on a real keypad, and Pigeon — a built-in Signal implementation that brings genuinely private, encrypted messaging to a feature phone, which almost nothing else in this class offers.

What it leaves out is the whole point. No browser, no app store, no social media, no camera rabbit hole. For an adult who wants a phone that respects their attention, or a parent modeling that for the household, it’s close to ideal. The Wi-Fi hotspot is a thoughtful pressure valve: when you genuinely need the internet, tether a laptop and do the task deliberately, then put it away.

The trade-offs are price and that same hotspot. At around $379 it’s a premium object, and the tethering escape hatch means it isn’t a locked-down kid phone — a tween with a paired tablet has a back door. As a tool for someone choosing focus, though, it’s one of the best made.

Age Fit

Best for adults and teens who want a deliberate, private, distraction-free phone. Some parents do hand the MP02 to a kid as a calls-and-texts device, and it works for that — but with no parental dashboard and a tethering hotspot, it assumes a fair amount of trust. For a younger kid who needs supervised limits, a family-controlled phone (Wisephone, Sunbeam) or a kids’ landline (Tin Can) is a closer fit.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

90

About as wholesome as a connected phone gets: no feed, no browser, no app store, nothing engineered to pull you back. It exists to make calls and send messages and then get out of your way. The encrypted Pigeon messaging even adds a quiet dignity — your conversations are yours.

Imaginative

72

A true feature phone gives time back rather than filling it. There’s nothing to scroll, so attention goes elsewhere — to a book, a walk, a conversation. It isn’t a creative tool itself, but among phones it’s one of the better at protecting the boredom that imagination grows out of.

Safe

86

Very safe by absence: no browser, no social apps, no way to stumble into the bad parts of the internet. Encrypted messaging is a real privacy win. It loses a few points because Wi-Fi tethering is an escape hatch (a paired laptop gets full internet) and there are no parental controls, so for a kid it relies on the kid not having a second device.

Enriching

70

Clear audio, reliable calls, encrypted messaging, and a hotspot for genuine need make it a capable, grown-up tool. It doesn’t teach anything, but it models a healthier relationship with a phone — and that lesson has value of its own.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Designed by Jasper Morrison — it feels like an object you chose, not a downgrade you settled for.
Pigeon brings encrypted Signal messaging to a feature phone, a privacy feature almost no other dumbphone has.
No browser, no app store, no social media, no camera — the distractions aren’t hidden, they’re absent.
Wi-Fi tethering is a deliberate pressure valve for the rare moment you truly need the web on a laptop.
Long battery life and clear call audio make it a reliable daily driver, not a novelty.

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What to Watch For

No parental controls — fine for an adult or trusted teen, but not a supervised kid phone.
The hotspot is a real escape hatch: a paired laptop or tablet gets full internet access.
T9 texting on a keypad is slower than a touchscreen; group chats and photos aren’t its strength.
At ~$379 it’s a premium price for a deliberately limited device.

Conversation Starters

"What would you do with the time if your phone simply couldn’t open a browser?"
"Why might someone pay more for a phone that does less?"
"What’s the difference between a phone being private and a phone being safe?"

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