Popcorn Adding
Count popcorn, pick the answer. Levels from within 5 up to within 20, with counters for little ones who still like to count.
A video app for kids, made by parents
Screen time your kids earn.
Kids watch only the videos you approved. Every minute costs a few Popcorn Pals, and kids earn Pals in short, friendly lessons: adding, times tables and spelling. No negotiating, no tears when it's over.
- Android, iPhone and iPad
- English and Polish
- No ads of its own, no autoplay
- Works without an account
Only what you approvedNo recommendations, no rabbit holes. Kids see your list and nothing else.
Earned, not givenWatching feels like a reward for effort, and the rules feel like a game.
Kind by designNo punishing sounds, no guilt, no countdown pressure. Bucky is always on the kid's side.
How it works
Learn a little, watch a little
Bucky is a popcorn bucket, and his popcorn is the currency. How full Bucky is shows how much watching is left, so even kids who don't read numbers yet get it.
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Solve a short lesson
A few quick puzzles at the kid's own level. Wrong answers get an encouraging "Oops, try again!", never a buzzer.
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Earn Popcorn Pals
Every right answer pops Pals into Bucky. Save them up, or put them in Bucky's bank and watch them grow.
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Watch approved videos
Pick something from the family library. Each started minute costs a few Pals, and they hop out of Bucky one by one while the video plays.
When the Pals run out, the video pauses and a short lesson starts. Finish it, and the video picks up right where it stopped. Watching ends naturally, without a fight.
Lessons
Real practice, in bite-sized pieces
A parent picks which lessons each kid gets and at what level. A few minutes a day adds up to a habit.
Times Tables
Timed tables within 100, and bigger ones up to 200 with the split method: three levels of help, and more Pals for doing it alone.
Polish Dictation
Ten grade-4 dictations. Pick the right spelling for each gap: ó or u, rz or ż, ch or h.
Subtraction Coming soon
Taking away popcorn, the same gentle way as adding.
For kids
A buddy who celebrates effort
Bucky reacts to everything a kid does, and he is never cross. Sad is only ever "a little hungry".
Happy to see you- Thinking with you
Oops, try again- A Pal was earned
Full, pick a video
Nap time
My own Bucky
Brothers and sisters share one phone or tablet. Each kid picks their profile on "Who's playing?" and has their own colour, Pals, lessons and videos.
Bucky's bank
Put Pals in the bank, and every night at midnight it adds a little more. Kids learn to save first and spend later, and see their savings grow.
The popcorn parade
While a video plays, Pals pop out of Bucky and march off the screen, one per minute. A tiny clock shows when the next one goes.
Big buttons, few words
Chunky rounded digits, big tap targets and pictures instead of menus, for kids who are still learning to read.
For parents
Set the rules once. Then relax.
Parent mode sits behind a PIN. Everything is per kid, so the six-year-old and the nine-year-old each get what fits them.
You approve every video
Paste a YouTube link to a single video, a playlist or a whole channel. Bucky lists what's in it, skips Shorts and live streams, and lets you filter by length and language. Choose which kids see each source.
Content warnings
Before anything is added, Bucky flags the kinds of videos many parents would rather skip, so you can hide whole kinds at once:
- Shopping and hauls
- Blind boxes and unboxing
- Clickbait
- Pranks
- Scary
- Sponsored
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Parent PIN
Settings are locked behind a 4-digit PIN that kids don't know.
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See how it's going
Per kid, today and the last 7 days: watching time, lessons done, accuracy, speed and the trickiest facts.
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Breaks that stick
A break with a task every 5 to 60 minutes of watching, and a closed cinema for a while afterwards.
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Pals and prices
Set how many Pals a kid needs before starting (10 by default) and how much a minute of each kind of video costs.
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Both parents
Invite the other parent with a short code. Several parents can manage one family.
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Same Bucky everywhere
Sign in with Google or Apple and the phone and the tablet share Pals, bank, videos and settings.
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Share from YouTube
On Android, tap Share on any YouTube video and send it straight to Bucky.
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Right video, right kid
Each playlist or channel is for every kid or only some of them, and new videos in it follow the same rule.
Breaks and a closed cinema
When it's break time, Bucky asks for a stretch and a quick task. After a break the cinema can stay closed for a while, with a friendly countdown instead of an argument. Kids can still do lessons and visit the bank while they wait.
Safety and privacy
Kids' data stays minimal
Bucky works fully on one device without any account. Nothing leaves the device then, apart from YouTube loading the videos you approved.
Stored, only with a family account
If you sign in to share a family across devices, this is kept in our Firebase project in the EU (Warsaw, Poland):
- Your sign-in id and email, to know who owns the family
- Kids' nicknames, colours and settings
- Pals, bank balance and watching-time totals
- The parent PIN, as a hash only
- The videos you added and the kinds you hid
Never stored in the cloud
Some things simply never leave the device, or are never collected at all:
- What a kid watched, and when
- Answers in lessons
- Photos, contacts or location
- Kid accounts or kids' emails
- Analytics or advertising trackers
- Official YouTube player. Videos play in YouTube's own embedded player, as YouTube's terms require. Bucky doesn't block YouTube's ads and never charges for playback.
- Stats stay home. The activity log behind the parent stats lives on the device only.
- Only family members. Security rules let only members of a family read or change it. Signing out removes a device from syncing.
FAQ
Questions parents ask
Can my kid find other videos in Bucky?
No. Kids only see the videos, playlists and channels a parent added. There is no search, no recommendations and no autoplay into something new.
Do I need an account?
No. On one device Bucky works without any account. A family account (Google or Apple sign-in) is only needed if you want the same kids, Pals and videos on several devices.
Which devices does it run on?
Android phones and tablets, and iPhone and iPad. The iPhone and iPad version is in TestFlight for now.
What happens when the Pals run out in the middle of a video?
The video pauses and a short lesson starts. When it's done, the video continues from the same moment. You decide how many Pals a kid needs to start again.
Which ages is it for?
The lessons go from adding within 5, for kids who still count on their fingers, to times tables up to 200 and grade-4 Polish spelling. You set the level for each kid.
Does Bucky remove YouTube ads?
No. Videos play in YouTube's official embedded player, as YouTube's terms require, so YouTube may still show its own ads. Bucky itself shows no ads and has no in-app purchases for kids.
Can siblings share one tablet?
Yes. Each kid has a profile with their own Pals, bank, lessons, settings and videos, and picks it on the start screen.
Which languages does Bucky speak?
English and Polish. Bucky follows the device language, and a parent can switch it in parent mode.
Want Bucky for your family?
Bucky is in early testing with a small group of families. Drop us a line and we'll let you know when there's room.
Get early accessNo newsletter, no spam. Just one message when it's your turn.