Speaking
Tilo says a word, your child says it back, and Tilo listens and helps with the sounds that don't exist in English.
“Now you! ਪਾਣੀ, paani. Water!”
For heritage-language families · Ages 5–12
Help them speak the language of home.
Nanabird is a voice-first language buddy for kids. Your child chats out loud with Tilo, a cheerful little songbird, in your family's own language and dialect. Then the next call with Nani, Teta or Lola can be a real conversation.
Coming soon to theApp StoreSee how it works
For iPhone and iPad. Try 15 minutes free. No subscription, ever.
Sat sri akal! Can you say ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀ with me?Tilo
ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀ!Aarav, 6
ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀnani jiGrandma (mother's mother), said with respect
How it works
Three steps from “hello” to “hello, Nani”
No flashcards to sort out or curriculum to choose. Just introduce your child, and Tilo takes it from there.
Introduce your child to Tilo
Tilo starts by asking you, the grown-up, to say hello and introduce your child in whatever language feels natural. Speak Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic or a mix, and Tilo switches to match you. Then it turns to your child and makes a new friend.
“Tilo, this is Zara. She's seven, she loves cats, and her Teta lives in Amman.”
Talk, listen, read, trace
Short lessons start with speaking out loud, because that's how children learn a language at home. As confidence grows, Tilo adds listening games, matching words to their script, and tracing letters with a fingertip.
Lessons take about 5 to 8 minutes, and you set the daily limit.
Watch them grow in Nanabird Parents
On your own phone, see minutes, streaks, every new word in its native script, and a two-line summary after each lesson. It's a quiet window into their progress, without having to hover.
The kids app has no dashboards and nothing to buy. That all lives with you.
Voice first
It feels like a chat with a friend, not a worksheet.
Children learn to speak by speaking. So Nanabird puts talking first. Tilo asks, listens, cheers, and gently helps with tricky sounds, using the words your family actually says at home.
- Real dialects, not just textbook language. Levantine or Egyptian Arabic, Mexican Spanish, Majhi Punjabi. You choose for each child.
- Tilo remembers your child: their buddy, their interests and who speaks the language at home, so lessons feel personal.
- Honest about being an AI. Tilo tells children it's an AI, stays on the lesson and never asks for personal details.
Languages
Your family's language, in your family's dialect
Seven languages have curated word packs, written in native script with romanization and reviewed by native speakers. Each card below shows how your child might say “Grandma”.
- ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Punjabi Majhi dialect · Gurmukhi script “Grandma”: ਨਾਨੀ (nani) ✓ Curated word pack
- اردو Urdu Nastaliq script “Grandma”: نانی (nani) ✓ Curated word pack
- हिन्दी Hindi Devanagari script “Grandma”: नानी (nani) ✓ Curated word pack
- العربية الشامية Levantine Arabic As spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine “Grandma”: تيتا (teta) ✓ Curated word pack
- العامية المصرية Egyptian Arabic Everyday Cairo Arabic “Grandma”: تيتة (teta) ✓ Curated word pack
- Tagalog Tagalog (Filipino) Latin alphabet “Grandma”: Lola ✓ Curated word pack
- Español (México) Mexican Spanish Latin alphabet “Grandma”: Abuelita ✓ Curated word pack
- + 28 moreTaught live by TiloTilo can also teach around 28 more languages in conversation. They're marked “AI-taught, not reviewed” so you always know what's been checked by a native speaker.
Four skills, one friend
Speaking first, then everything else
Nanabird follows the way children pick up a language at home: listen and talk first, then connect sounds to letters on the page.
Listening
Playful back-and-forth where your child listens for words they know and answers Tilo, a little more each day.
“Did you hear lola in that? Where?”
Reading
Children match the words they hear to the same words in their own script, building early reading one familiar word at a time.
Which one says نانی?
Writing
Fingertip letter tracing in 7 alphabets: Gurmukhi, Shahmukhi, Urdu, Arabic, Devanagari, and the Tagalog and Spanish alphabets.
Example letters: ਕکकبNg
Family missions
Lessons that end at the dinner table
After a lesson, Tilo gives your child a tiny mission to do with someone they love. Practice becomes a moment with Nani, Dadi, Teta or Lola. Every finished mission earns a stamp in your child's language passport.
- Grandparents become the experts. Their way of saying it is the right way for your family.
- Grandparents far away? Try the mission on your next video call.
- No pressure. Missions are invitations, never homework.
Today's family mission
Ask Nani ji to say ਨਾਨੀ with you.
ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀnani ji
Say it together (done)
Ask what she called her own grandmother (not done yet)
Nanabird Parents
See every new word, in its own script
A separate app on your phone shows how your child is doing. You get the good news without having to hover over the iPad.
- Minutes and streaks at a glance, with a ring for today's daily limit.
- Every word they've learned, in native script with romanization and meaning.
- Progress in four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
- A two-line summary after each lesson, so you know what to celebrate at dinner.
- You set the daily limit, per child, and change it anytime.
Safety & privacy
Built for children from the very first line of code
These are promises, not settings you have to find. Lessons are powered by Google's Gemini on Google Cloud, which we've configured not to use your child's data to train models.
No ads. Ever.
No ads, no in-lesson upsells and no sponsored content in the kids app. Purchases live only in the parents' app.
No tracking or analytics
No third-party analytics, no advertising identifier, no location, contacts or photos. This website doesn't use cookies either.
Voice is never stored
Your child's voice streams only while a lesson is open so Tilo can answer, and is discarded when it ends.
Transcripts are never stored
Lesson text is held in memory just long enough to write your summary, then deleted. It is never written to disk.
Parents hold the keys
Children never create accounts. You sign in with Apple, give consent and can review or change anything.
Delete everything, anytime
Remove one child or the whole family from Nanabird Parents. It's gone from our servers immediately, and from backups within 30 days.
Tracing stays on the device
Letter-tracing strokes never leave your child's iPad. Only the score is saved.
Safe by design
Tilo stays on lessons and never asks for personal details. If something worrying comes up, it gently points to a trusted grown-up and alerts you, recording only the category of concern, never the words.
COPPA (US)PIPEDA (Canada)Quebec Law 25UK Children's Code
Nanabird was designed with these children's privacy rules in mind. For the details, read our Privacy Policy or email privacy@blacklayers.ca.
Pricing
Pay for talk time. No subscription.
Hear Tilo with your child before you spend anything. Every pack includes all languages, all four skills and Nanabird Parents.
60 minutes
About a week at 10 minutes a day
US$7.99once
- All languages and dialects
- Speaking, listening, reading and writing
- Nanabird Parents included
200 minutes
About 3 weeks at 10 minutes a day
US$19.99once
- Everything in 60 minutes
- Shared by every child in your family
450 minutes
About 6 weeks at 10 minutes a day
US$39.99once
- Everything in 200 minutes
- The lowest price per minute
Minute packs are one-time purchases billed by Apple. They never renew and never expire, and they work on every iPhone and iPad in your family. Only time talking with Tilo is counted, and each child's daily limit still applies. In other regions Apple sets local prices, and taxes may apply.
FAQ
Questions parents ask us
Who is Nanabird for?
Children aged 5 to 12 whose families want to keep a heritage language alive: kids who understand Nani but answer in English, kids who have never heard their grandparents' language at school, and everyone in between. A parent or guardian sets everything up and stays in charge.
I don't speak the language well myself. Can we still use it?
Yes. Tilo does the teaching, so you don't need to be fluent. Many families use Nanabird because the language skipped a generation. The family missions are designed for exactly this: they bring grandparents and relatives in as the experts.
Which languages and dialects are included?
Seven languages have curated word packs, written per dialect with native script and romanization and reviewed by native speakers: Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Urdu, Hindi, Levantine Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Tagalog and Mexican Spanish. Around 28 more languages are taught live by Tilo. Those are clearly marked “AI-taught, not reviewed” so you always know the difference.
Is Tilo a real person?
No. Tilo is an AI voice powered by Google's Gemini, and it tells children so. Tilo stays on lessons, never asks for personal details and blocks unsafe content. Like any AI, it can make mistakes, including with words and pronunciation. That's why the core word packs are reviewed by native speakers.
Do you record my child's voice?
No. Your child's voice streams through our server to Google Cloud only while a lesson is open, so Tilo can hear and answer. It is never stored, and neither is the transcript. The transcript is held in memory to write your two-line summary, then deleted when the lesson ends. Read the full Privacy Policy.
How much screen time is this?
Lessons are short, about 5 to 8 minutes, and mostly talking and listening rather than tapping. There's a daily limit you control from Nanabird Parents. It's 20 minutes by default, and you can change it for each child.
What do we need to use it?
An iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or later for your child, and Nanabird Parents on your own iPhone. You link them with a 6-digit code. Nanabird is coming soon to the App Store. There is no Android version yet.
How do the free minutes and minute packs work?
Every family can try 15 free minutes with Tilo. After that, a grown-up buys a minute pack in the app: a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Minutes never expire, are shared by every child and device in the family, and are only counted while Tilo is talking.
Something else? Email support@blacklayers.ca. A real person replies within two business days.
Give them the words their grandparents dream in.
Nanabird is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Coming soon to theApp Store