HMD Fuse: AI-Powered Smartphone for Kids That Blocks Nude Content

Hans India

4 hours ago

Finnish phone-maker HMD Global, best known for reviving the Nokia brand, has entered a new niche in the smartphone market—devices made exclusively for children. The company has unveiled the HMD Fuse, a smartphone designed with built-in artificial intelligence that promises to block all nude or inappropriate content, making it the first of its kind globally.
The Fuse is powered by an AI model called HarmBlock AI, developed by UK-based cybersecurity company SafeToNet. Unlike typical filtering apps that operate online, this AI runs locally on the phone itself, giving parents and children real-time protection without depending on cloud-based servers. According to HMD, the Fuse is capable of preventing children from filming, sharing, or even receiving any form of explicit content. It also works seamlessly during livestreams, ensuring that such material never reaches the child's screen or gets stored on the device.
Along with its headline feature, the HMD Fuse packs a suite of expanded parental controls. Parents can monitor their child's phone use, including screen time, app activity, and internet access. Time limits can be set for individual applications, and location tracking is also built in, allowing parents to know where their children are at all times.
Interestingly, the Fuse blocks social media apps and internet browsing by default. However, HMD has designed the phone to adapt as children grow older. Initially, parents can restrict the device to work as a simple phone with basic calling and messaging. Over time, additional features—such as web access or selective apps—can be unlocked under parental supervision.
So why did HMD decide to create such a product? According to the company, the idea came from a global survey involving 37,000 parents and children. The study revealed a growing demand for smartphones that offer greater digital supervision, with parents voicing concerns over children's exposure to unsafe online content and the risks associated with social media.
Unlike many mainstream smartphone makers, HMD has recently focused on meaningful features like repairability and long-lasting devices. With the Fuse, the company is doubling down on this philosophy by addressing one of the most pressing concerns of modern parenting—children's online safety.
On the hardware front, the HMD Fuse features a 6.56-inch HD+ LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 600 nits of brightness, ensuring a smooth and bright viewing experience. It runs on the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor with 5G connectivity, offering decent performance for day-to-day tasks. The phone comes in a single black color variant.
For now, the device is available only in the UK, where it is being sold exclusively through Vodafone. Customers can purchase the phone with a monthly plan of £33 (around ₹3,878) along with an upfront cost of £30 (around ₹3,526). It remains unclear if HMD plans to bring the Fuse to India.
The company's most recent India launch was the HMD Fusion, a modular smartphone introduced in November 2024 at a price of ₹17,999.
With the Fuse, HMD aims to reassure parents that children can enjoy the benefits of connectivity without the risks of unfiltered internet access—making it a potential game-changer in the family-friendly smartphone segment.