Show HN: Muky – A kid-friendly music player for iOS | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Muky – A kid-friendly music player for iOS

muky.app

18 pointsoliverjanssen16 comments

Hi,

I've developed an iOS app called Muky (https://muky.app/) that allows parents to create and manage music playlists for their children. It provides a focused, distraction-free audio experience for kids.

I created this app because my 4-year-old daughter loves music, but existing solutions like Tonies or cassettes didn't meet our needs. Using an iPhone or iPad directly with Apple Music wasn't ideal either. Muky aims to solve these issues under the motto "Music for the Kids".

Here some key features:

* Dedicated music player for children

* Parent-controlled playlists

* Compatible with Apple Music (Spotify support coming soon)

* Distraction-free interface

* Works well with iOS "Guided Access" feature

* Keeps kids' music separate from parents' personal collections and algorithms

* iOS 15 Support for Older Devices

* Direct Start in Audio Player

* Password Protection (Secure the audio player mode with a password. Exiting the audio player mode requires the password set by the parents, ensuring kids cannot exit the app simply.)

I'd love to get your feedback and hear your thoughts on this approach to kid-friendly music streaming.

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Great idea — Though https://www.spotify.com/uk/kids/ exists, an app which consolidates them together for this purpose is smart. There might be an audience beyond just kids though: having Apple Music / Spotify / local media all in one app sounds pretty appealing.

Also, sweet landing page :) I hope you do well.

Thank you so much.

It could also work for parties - create a playlist of approved songs, ensuring only those tracks can be played. ;)

If you follow the Spotify API terms then you are not allowed to mix tracks from other providers in your app. That's probably why it doesn't exist. You'll have to bend the truth in your API access request.

Currently, Muky uses only Apple Music's API, but I'm working on Spotify integration. Users will choose their preferred service during setup, with playlists tied to that service. Switching services will require new playlists. This approach, similar to Sonos, ensures API compliance and user consistency. I'm hopeful it will pass Spotify's app review when ready.

Ah I see, that's a good solution. It's a shame it can't be mixed, maybe not so interesting for services where the offerings are so similar like these two, but e.g. Spotify + YouTube would be nice.

I have heard (from the developer forums) that review time is awful since they became stricter on the requirements and the dev support team seems to have disappeared. Be sure to factor that in and good luck!

Please specify how music gets in the app.

Does it use the default music library that you load through Apple Music? Can you load mp3/flac/alac directly in it?

Muky uses the Apple Music API, allowing access to AM's full library. Loading personal audio files (mp3, flac...) isn't supported currently.

The copy says "for kids", but the music selection in your screenshot says 40 yo man.

Ha! I'm not there yet. My kid loves these though. And there's actually a hidden easter egg in there.

But good point. More kid-friendly tracks might resonate better with some parents. ;)

Hedda & Keke?

;)

There's a weird ethical boundary here that makes me sort of uncomfortable with this app in the same way many content based firewalls for kids does.

We don't want kids looking at certain Hub sites, obviously, but, like, those same filters also often prevent high schoolers from looking up necessary safe-sex information.

As a music app, that's less of a concern, but I do think there's risk of parents over-controlling to only provide, say, conservative podcast audio and Christian music. Weather or not that's a parent's right also depends on the age. 4, like your daughter. Sure. What about 12? 16? 17? Age of majority in Nebraska, where I'm located, is 19. Should a parent be able to restrict their child from listening to, say, NOFX, Flobots, or The Narcissist Cookbook, at 18?

I lean no. Now, you're not the moral police and, arguably, it's not up to you if parents abuse this app against their more-adult-kids wishes, but have you put any thought into this? Have you made an effort to only target parents with kids of an age range or to put a "What should I let my kids listen to?" guidance section in the app?

I'd also like to ask if the app is obviously branded as for kids to kids, so that those "kids" or maybe some highly sheltered romantic partner, can take it as a hint?

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> Exiting the audio player mode requires the password set by the parents

How does this work? I'm an Android guy, but over there, to my knowledge, there's no good way to tell the OS "Users shouldn't be able to kill this app", so how does it stop kids from closing it/switching apps?

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback on content control for different age groups. Muky is designed for younger children (4-10), focusing on their specific needs and parental concerns.

Muky has two main components:

Admin Area: Parents create custom playlists with personalized titles, colors, and emojis.

Kid-Friendly Player: A simplified, password-protected interface where kids easily select and play tracks.

The app balances engagement for children with parental control. It uses both an in-app password and iOS Guided Access for security, preventing unauthorized exit from the player mode.

I've focused on creating a fun, easy-to-use interface for kids rather than emphasizing restrictions.

Dark mode app but no dark mode website?!

Good point, will implement that.

Done ;) Screenshots will be updated soon as well.

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