TAG is a handheld e-ink device that carries exactly one message at a time from a parent to a child at school — answered with a single tap, yes or no. Nothing to scroll, nothing to confiscate.
Most of what a lock-away policy blocks is exactly what parents never needed anyway. What's left is a handful of genuinely time-sensitive messages a day, with no channel left to send them.
Gran instead of Mum, a different gate, a different time. Small logistics, but they have to land before the final bell.
A dentist appointment, an early collection, a forgotten kit bag — the kind of message that doesn't fit a note sent in with breakfast.
Nothing urgent — just "home safe?" or "did the trip go ahead?" — answered with one tap instead of an unread text three hours later.
The device only ever shows the most recent message. There's nothing to scroll, mute, or get lost in — which is the point.
A short message, typed once, on the parent's own phone — same as texting, except it's going to a device the school controls, not a phone the school has to confiscate.
It travels over TAG's MQTT broker network to the child's paired device, or through the school's control portal if it's a broadcast to a class or year group.
The e-ink screen updates — checking in roughly every five minutes is enough — and holds that one message until it's answered. Battery life was never the constraint; attention was.
Two physical buttons, nothing else. The reply goes straight back to the parent's app. No typing, no conversation to have in the middle of a lesson.
Distributed by the school, handed back at the gate.
For the walk home, clubs, and everything outside the gates.
Only the latest message is ever shown. There's no history to scroll and nothing to find later.
Replies are a tap, not a conversation. Yes or no — there's no keyboard for a stranger to exploit.
School pairings expire themselves. Every link between device and parent app is released at 3pm, no admin required.
No feed, no notifications to chase. The screen only changes when there's something that actually needs an answer.
TAG is an independent build, not a school-issued product yet — the repository below is where it's actually taking shape.
| Device | Handheld e-ink display, two physical buttons, five-minute network poll |
| Companion app | Parent-facing app for sending messages and reading replies |
| Network | MQTT broker network carrying messages to paired devices |
| Control portal | School-facing dashboard for pairing, groups, and broadcast messages |
| Repository | github.com/andykirkpublic-cmd/TAG |
| Target deployment | tag.trykobi.com |