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BabushkApp

Small phone icons are hard to read

Instead of a grid of small icons she gets a separate screen of a few wide buttons, each with one name in large capitals on a solid colour.

What happens

She holds the phone close and still misses: the WhatsApp icon looks like its neighbour, and a tap that lands slightly off opens another app or a menu. Larger system text does not make app icons bigger.

BabushkApp does not change her phone. It adds one screen of its own: wide buttons, at least 80 px tall, with only a name on each.

Set it up in BabushkApp

  1. Open BabushkApp on her phone

    On her phone, in Safari or Chrome, tap “Set up buttons” below. The first screen is “Quick setup”. If buttons already exist, press and hold “Setup” for a second, then tap “Create button”.

  2. Write one short name

    In “Button label (optional)” write one name, for example ANNA. It turns to capitals by itself. A short word stays on one line; a long label wraps onto two or three.

  3. Add the number, then check it

    In “Phone number” type the number with the country code (+1…). Under “How should they reach you?” choose “Call” or “WhatsApp chat”, then tap “Continue”. Tap “Check this button”: the phone should start the call or open the chat. Then tap “I checked it — add to screen”.

  4. Add the other buttons, vary the colours

    Press and hold “Setup” and tap “Create button” for each person. Under “Button color” give neighbouring buttons different colours; the label is white on all of them.

  5. Put the icon on her home screen

    Add the BabushkApp icon (iPhone and Android guides below). Setup opens only with a one-second press, so an ordinary tap cannot change the buttons.

Check that the button works

  • Hand her the phone with the icon on the home screen and ask which button is whom, without touching. If she hesitates, shorten the label or change the colours.
  • Try it in the light and with the glasses she normally uses: glare and screen brightness change what she can read.

What BabushkApp does not do

  • BabushkApp does not change the phone’s text size, zoom, contrast or screen reader, and has no text-size setting of its own. Those live in the phone’s Settings → Accessibility on iPhone and on Android; the screen readers are VoiceOver (iPhone) and TalkBack (Android).
  • Only BabushkApp’s own screen is large. The lock screen, notifications and WhatsApp keep their usual size, and after a tap the other app opens as it always does.
  • It does not read anything aloud itself. With the phone’s screen reader on, each button is announced by its name, for example “Call ANNA”.
  • It is a shortcut to calls and chats, not a medical or emergency service.

Related guides

Other situations

Set up buttons →All cases ←