An app for iPhone and Android
A lullaby, calm music or white noise, a dark and very slow picture that fades out by itself, and a screen that ignores every touch. Start it before you drive; Zibko does the rest.
Zibko works in three steps, all before the drive: pick a sound and a time, put the phone in the holder, and on the road Zibko runs by itself and needs nobody.
In Zibko you pick one of 3 sounds (music, a lullaby or white noise) and when the picture fades: after 10, 15 or 30 minutes. The volume is 60 % by default and never above 80 %.
The phone goes into a fixed holder on the front seat's headrest. Zibko plays the sound while soft shapes drift slowly across a dark background; whatever the baby taps, nothing happens.
Only an adult unlocks Zibko: hold the top-left corner of the screen for 3 seconds and type the 4-digit code Zibko shows. If nobody types it within 20 seconds, the keypad closes by itself.
Everything Zibko is and isn't, in one table (as of 25 October 2026).
| Phones | iPhone (locked with Guided Access) and Android (the app pins itself) |
|---|---|
| Sounds | 3: calm music, a lullaby (Brahms), white noise |
| Picture fades after | 10, 15 or 30 minutes; the fade takes 60 seconds |
| Volume | 60 % by default, at most 80 % of the phone's volume |
| Unlock | hold the top-left corner for 3 seconds + a 4-digit code |
| Internet | not needed; the app has no network permission |
| Ads, analytics, accounts | none |
| Data | on the phone only: the last chosen sound, time and volume |
| Languages | Slovenian, English |
| Availability | coming soon to the App Store and Google Play; in testing now |
| Made by | Marko Divjak, DivjakLab, Slovenia |
Because screens don't help babies under 18 months: the World Health Organization (2019 guidelines) recommends no screen time before age 1, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against screen media before 18 months. So Zibko soothes with sound, and the picture only keeps company for a short while.
Zibko plays three calm sounds: slow, warm chords with no rhythm, Brahms' lullaby, and soft, deep white noise. The sound loops until an adult stops it. We made every sound ourselves.
The picture in Zibko is very slow: the shapes take 30 to 60 seconds for one drift, a "breath" lasts 12 seconds, and the stars brighten over 30 seconds. Nothing flashes, with no fast cuts and no rewards.
The picture fades after 10, 15 or 30 minutes, as chosen before the drive. It dims gradually over 60 seconds. Then the screen stays dark and the sound plays on.
Touching the screen does nothing. While Zibko plays it ignores taps, swipes and pinches, makes no sound on touch and doesn't change the picture. Only an adult unlocks it: hold the top-left corner for 3 seconds and type a 4-digit code.
Zibko is built so that nobody has to touch it on the road. Please keep to these few rules.
Full safety guidanceZibko doesn't know who you are and sends nothing anywhere. On the phone it only remembers your last choice of sound, time and volume.
“Something calm on the screen. Just enough to keep him company.”
Zibko was made by a dad for his son. So it is what any parent would want: quiet, dark, simple, and without anything that collects data or sells ads. The name comes from zibka, Slovenian for cradle.
How to lock and unlock the phone, why the picture fades, and what Zibko does (and doesn't) need.
With Guided Access, which is part of iOS.
The iPhone now won't let anyone leave the app.
Zibko locks itself with app pinning. When you tap “Start before the drive”, Android asks whether to pin the app; the first time, confirm “Pin”. While it is pinned, the Home and Back buttons do nothing.
Hold the top-left corner for three seconds. A four-digit code appears; type it in. The sound stops and Android unpins the app. On an iPhone, then triple-click the side button and enter your Guided Access passcode.
Because Zibko is mostly sound. The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics advise against screens for babies under 18 months. The picture only helps the baby settle; after 10, 15 or 30 minutes it fades out slowly over one minute, and the sound keeps playing until you stop it.
The picture is dark, in soft colours, with no flashing and no fast changes; nothing moves faster than one cycle in ten seconds. Zibko is not a medical device: turn the screen brightness down, keep the phone on the headrest rather than close to the face, and ask your paediatrician if you have questions about eyesight or sleep.
No. Zibko has no internet permission and never connects anywhere. It works in tunnels, in the mountains and in aeroplane mode, with no mobile data.
Nothing. While it plays, the screen ignores every touch: no sounds, no rewards, nothing changes. Only an adult can unlock it, with a long press in the corner and a code.
Soon. We are trying Zibko on our own drives first; once it is in the stores, the links will be on this page.