Lello
Written by people
Every story is written and reviewed by people. Each one is kind, unhurried and ends in rest or sleep.
Coming soon to iPhone and Android
Calm bedtime stories, starring your child.
Lello reads gentle stories aloud, with your child's name and a buddy they pick woven into every one. Written by people, made for ages 3 to 7, and built for the last ten minutes of the day.
- Human-written stories
- Sleep timer
- No ads, no tracking
How it works
From bath to bed in three steps
Lello is set up once by a grown-up. After that, bedtime is a story, a soft voice and a screen that goes quiet.
Set up once
Add your child's first name and let them choose a buddy to join every story.
Pick tonight's story
Browse the library together, or tell Tonight's story about the day and let Lello choose.
Lights down
Tap Read to me, set the sleep timer, and let the story do the rest.
A parent writes, for exampleFirst swimming lesson today. A bit nervous about the water.
Lello suggestsThe Whale Who Hummed the Sea to SleepA gentle story about the sea, with your child's name in it.
New: Tonight's story
Tell Lello about the day. It finds the right story.
Type one line about your child's day in the grown-ups area. Lello matches it to a story from its library, right there on the phone, and tells you why it chose it.
- Private. The note is never saved and never leaves the phone.
- Offline. Matching happens on the device, with no connection needed.
- Human-written. Lello picks from stories people wrote and reviewed. It does not write new ones.
- Gentle with hard days. For heavy topics, Lello offers a comforting story and a kind word for you.
What's inside
Made for the last ten minutes of the day
Calm beats exciting. No bright flashes, no loud sounds, no rewards that make a child want one more.
Your child is the hero
Your child's first name and their chosen buddy appear throughout the story, not just on the cover.
Read aloud, softly
A calm narrator reads to your child at a slow, calm or normal pace, with the words on screen.
A sleep timer
Choose 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes and the reading stops by itself, even if your child has drifted off.
Favourites
Tap the heart to keep the stories your child asks for again and again.
A gate for grown-ups
Settings and purchases sit behind a grown-ups gate, so your child's screens stay simple.
A look inside
Dark, starry and easy on sleepy eyes
Screens from the app as it stands today, ahead of launch.
Story buddies
Pick a friend for the journey
Your child chooses one buddy, who comes along in every story.
- Twinklea sleepy little star
- Pipa gentle fox with a lantern tail
- Lunaa wise, soft-feathered owl
- Bubblesa small whale who hums
- Saharaa kind camel with long eyelashes
- Ziggya tiny dragon who breathes warm sparkles
Questions parents ask
Lello, answered
What is Lello?
Lello is a bedtime story app for young children. It reads calm, gentle stories aloud, with your child's first name and a buddy they choose placed in every story.
It is made by Lineage Technologies in Dubai and is coming to iPhone and Android.
What ages is Lello for?
Lello is made for children aged about 3 to 7, with a parent nearby at bedtime. The stories are short and kind, end in rest or sleep, and never leave anything frightening unresolved.
How does Tonight's story work?
In the grown-ups area, a parent types a line about the child's day, such as a first swimming lesson or a friend who was missed. The phone matches that line to the best-fitting story in Lello's library, adds your child's name, and shows a short note on why it chose that story.
It works offline. The note is never saved and never leaves the phone.
Are Lello's stories written by people?
Yes. Lello's library is written and reviewed by people. The app never makes up a story on the fly: every story your child hears comes from that library.
Does Lello read the stories aloud?
Yes. Tap Read to me and a calm narrator reads the story, with the words on screen if you want to read along. You can choose a slow, calm or normal reading pace.
On iPhone, the narrator voice is created from the story text by our voice provider, and the phone's own voice takes over if that is unavailable. On Android, narration happens on the phone.
Is there a sleep timer?
Yes. In the player you can set the sleep timer to 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, and the reading stops by itself.
Can my child keep favourite stories?
Yes. Tap the heart on any story to save it to your child's favourites, which appear on the Tonight screen.
What data does Lello collect about my child?
Very little. Your child's first name, buddy, favourites and settings are stored only on the phone. There are no accounts, no database of children, no ads and no tracking.
On iPhone, the story text is sent through our server to our voice provider to create the narration. Full details are in our privacy policy.
Does Lello work offline?
Yes. The stories live on the phone, and Tonight's story works without a connection. On Android everything works offline. On iPhone, the narrator voice needs a connection; without one, the phone's own voice reads the story.
What is the grown-ups area?
Settings, Tonight's story and anything to do with purchases sit behind a grown-ups gate, a quick check that young children cannot easily pass. Your child's screens stay free of settings and buttons to buy things.
When does Lello launch, and what will it cost?
Lello is not in the App Store or Google Play yet. Join the waiting list on this page and we will email you when it launches.
Pricing will be shared at launch. Any subscription is billed by Apple or Google.
Who makes Lello?
Lello is made by Lineage Technologies, Opus Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DET trader licence 1639817). You can reach us at info@lineagehq.co.
Be first to hear when Lello launches
Lello is coming to the App Store and Google Play. Leave your email and we'll let you know the day it's ready.