GUIDE
My dad still uses a flip phone. How can he see the baby photos the rest of the family shares?
By the seenow! teamLast updated:
Work with the screens he already has instead of pushing a new phone. Send one photo at a time as a regular text and see what comes through, use a computer or TV at his house for bigger batches, and mail a few prints each month. Many people his age live without a smartphone.
WHY
Why this happens
When a new baby arrives, most of the photos travel through group texts, shared albums and apps. All of that assumes a smartphone. A grandfather with a flip phone can take calls and texts, but a shared album link is useless to him, and the family chat full of baby pictures may show up as blank boxes or not at all.
He is not unusual. In Pew Research Center's 2026 survey, 14% of U.S. adults 65 and older said they have a cellphone that is not a smartphone. For some, a basic phone is a choice: it is simple, and it does what they need. Pushing an upgrade often turns into a standoff, and the baby keeps growing in the meantime.
The same survey points to a better route. 89% of adults 65 and older use the internet, and 71% have home broadband. Even a grandfather who will never carry a smartphone may have a computer, a laptop, or a TV connected at home. The photos do not have to reach his pocket. They have to reach a screen he already sits in front of.
HOW TO
What you can do starting today
Test what his phone can actually receiveNo app needed
Send him one photo of the baby as a regular text message, by itself, not in a group thread. Then call and ask what he sees. Many basic phones can show a picture message, but small screens and older models vary. If it comes through, you have a daily channel: one good photo, one at a time, works better than ten in a row.
Keep him out of the big group threadNo app needed
Group threads with many people, reactions and videos are the hardest thing for a basic phone to handle. Pick one person in the family, maybe you, to send him a single photo every few days directly. It is less work than it sounds and he gets the best shots instead of all of them.
Use the bigger screen at his houseNo app needed
If he has a computer or a connected TV, that is where the bigger batches should go. Email a handful of photos or a short video to an address he checks, or set them up the next time you visit so they are easy to find. A laptop on the kitchen table shows a baby's face far better than any phone screen.
Source: Pew Research Center: Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet (2026)
Mail a few prints every monthNo app needed
Prints never need charging or updating. Pick three or four photos each month, write the date and a line on the back, and mail them. Over a year, that envelope habit becomes a small album he can show his friends.
Talk him through the photo on the phoneNo app needed
When you call, describe what you sent: "That is her first time in the high chair." The conversation is often what he wants most, and the photo gives you something to talk about.
WITH SEENOW!
Doing it with seenow!
seenow! is a smartphone app for sharing short family videos, so it cannot help directly on a flip phone. It may still help the rest of the family.
- If a relative who lives near him has an iPhone or Android phone, they can join the family group and show him the clips when they visit. iPhone and Android can share the same group.
- You can keep a separate group for the household and another for extended family, so what you show him on a visit is just the baby.
What seenow! can’t do
- seenow! does not run on flip phones and cannot send videos as text messages. On his own phone, regular picture texts and prints are the way to go.
Core features are free.
POINT
Things to watch for in this situation
Ask before you buy him a phone
A surprise smartphone can feel like a hint that his way is not good enough. If you think he might want one, ask first, and let him say what he would actually use it for.
Treat the shared screen as shared
If photos go to a computer or TV that others in his home use, remember that anyone there can see them. Send what you would be comfortable having on the coffee table.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can a flip phone get pictures by text?
Many can, but models differ. The quickest way to find out is to send one photo by itself as a regular text and ask him what he sees.
Should I just get my dad a smartphone?
Only if he wants one. About one in seven adults 65 and older still use a basic cellphone, according to Pew. A computer or TV at home, plus prints, often covers what he wants without a new device.
Can he see videos of the baby?
On a basic phone, video often will not play well or at all. Send videos by email to a computer at his house, or save the clips to show him on your phone when you visit.