In a significant move to tackle the growing online safety crisis facing children, Human Mobile Devices (HMD), known for manufacturing Nokia phones, has launched a new smartphone with a world-first built-in AI technology designed to block content that kids shouldn’t be seeing. The HMD Fuse, protected by HarmBlock+, is being hailed as a “watershed moment in digital parenting,” offering a solution that parents and children have long sought.
Developed in partnership with online safety experts SafeToNet, the HMD Fuse is the first smartphone to integrate a groundbreaking AI, HarmBlock AI, directly into its operating system. This technology is designed to prevent children from filming, seeing, sharing, or storing nude and sexual images and videos. Unlike apps that can be bypassed, this embedded AI, which was ethically trained on over 22 million harmful images, is described as “pornography incompatible” and cannot be circumvented.
The launch comes at a critical time for Australian families. A recent HMD survey revealed alarming statistics, with 32% of Australian children having been shown or sent sexual or violent content, and 43% having been contacted online by a stranger. One in five have even had a stranger try to move them to an encrypted chat, highlighting the urgent need for a more secure device.
A Phone That Grows with Your Child
The HMD Fuse is designed to grow with a child. It can start as a basic “brick phone” with only calls, texts, and location tracking enabled. Through an accompanying parental app, guardians can gradually introduce features like music apps, controlled web access, and social media, tailoring the device to their child’s age and maturity level. All features are blocked by default, giving parents complete control from the very beginning.
Beyond the unique AI protection, the HMD Fuse also offers a comprehensive suite of parental controls. These include:
- Granular App Management: Parents can approve or block apps, set daily usage limits, and schedule screen-free times.
- Contact Whitelisting: Calls and messages are restricted to a parent-approved list of contacts, preventing unknown individuals from reaching the child.
- Real-time Location Tracking: The device allows parents to track their child’s location, view history, and set up “safe zone” alerts.
- Privacy-Centric Design: All AI processing of content happens locally on the device, ensuring no user data, including photos or browsing history, is shared outside the phone.
- 3 Year Warranty: The phone will come with a 3 year warranty, 3 years of security updates and two full OS updates at release.
The HMD Fuse protected with HarmBlock+ is the result of “The Better Phone Project,” a co-design initiative that consulted over 37,000 parents and children globally, including in Australia. The feedback was clear: families needed a device that balanced connection with protection, one that was smarter and more robust than existing solutions.
“We’ve created not just a new phone, but a new category,” said James Robinson, Vice President of HMD Family. “This is more than a product. It’s a safety net, a statement of intent, and a response, because no child should be put in danger because of their device, and no parent should have to choose between connection and protection.”
Pricing and Availability
The HMD Fuse protected with HarmBlock+ will be available in Australia from August 28, 2025, for a recommended retail price of $799 from Harvey Norman and Officeworks. This includes a 12-month HarmBlock+ subscription, which will then be priced at $26.95 per month. The phone also comes with two “inbox covers,” one of which features a foldable LED light ring for better selfies.
