Everything that makes bedtime theirs
From the voice that reads to the way we keep it safe, every feature in one place. Tap a planet to jump straight to its group.
Read in the voices they love
Your own voice, family voices from anywhere, or one of ours. You choose who reads each night.
Your voice in about 30 seconds
Read a short bedtime story aloud on your phone or computer. Your voice is usually ready in under 20 seconds, and it says hello: “Hello Grace, it’s Mum. Shall we have a story?”
Invite anyone, wherever they live
Send a link to Grandma, an uncle in Toronto or a parent working away, by email or however you like. They record on their own phone in about three minutes, with no app and no account.
Choose who reads tonight
Pick any voice for tonight’s story. Whoever reads, it’s read like a storyteller, with warmth and expression, and every word is checked against the story.
24 BellaBye voices, free on every plan
Not ready to record? Choose one of 24 storytelling voices, like Rosalind, in British, American or Australian English. They never use one of your voice places.
A face for every voice
Give each voice a little picture: their initial, or a drawn figure in their skin tone and hair colour, with glasses if they wear them.
More faces to choose from
A bigger avatar set, with beards, hearing aids, head coverings and a wheelchair.
A brand new story every night
Make tonight’s story in one tap, or shape every detail: the world, the mood, the purpose and how it ends.
Tonight’s story in one tap
Choose who’s listening and who reads, add an idea if you like, such as “a trip to the seaside with Grandma and a very sleepy crab”, then tap Make Tonight’s Story.
Picture book or listen only
A picture on every page to look at, or just the story to drift off to. Short, medium or long, or anything from 2 to 20 minutes.
Forty worlds, or Surprise me
Lighthouses, moon picnics, pirates and more, or let us choose. Every story is a new one, with a new title, plot and setting.
You choose the shape
A gentle adventure, a mystery or something calm. From no jokes to very silly, with a sleepy or a happy ending.
A story with a gentle purpose
Help with real life, like starting school or a trip to the dentist, only when you choose it. Add a gentle lesson, such as kindness or trying again, and new words to practise.
A series of nights
Turn tonight’s story into 2 to 10 nights that build to a proper ending, with a short recap and a gentle cliffhanger each night. Nights you don’t make are never charged.
Questions after the story
Turn on a few questions about the story to ask together at the end, with a little reward for every right answer.
Points and a toy collection
Your child earns points for listening and answering questions, and grows their own collection of digital toys.
Save your favourite choices
Save the choices you use most, like Calm bedtime, and start from them in one tap.
One story for two or three children
Choose more than one child to listen, with one as the star of the story.
All about them
Set each child up once, and every story knows who they are, who they love and what they love.
A profile for each child
Their name or nickname, age, favourite kinds of story and pronouns: she, he or they. Stories, pictures and the app all follow them.
Their whole world, in the story
The people, pets, toys and imaginary friends in their life, and the things they love, like penguins or diggers. Any of them can join every story.
Their favourite colours
Up to 3 of 16, from Dragon coral to Lantern gold. They colour their avatar, their story covers and what they wear in the pictures.
Words that fit them
From Early listener to Independent reader, following their age until you choose, with rhyming stories for ages 2 to 5.
Grows with them
Add their birthday month and their age moves on by itself, with their words and stories following.
Grandma in the story, and reading it
Link Grandma in their world to her recorded voice, so she can read the story, be in it, or both.
Pictures with them on every page
Every story is drawn for your child, in the style you choose, and they look like themselves on every page.
A picture on every page
A cover and 4 to 10 illustrated pages, each with its own scene and framing, from wide shots to close-ups.
The same child on every page
Their hair, skin, eyes and glasses, a head covering, a hearing aid or a wheelchair, drawn the same way in every story.
Six picture styles
Watercolour, Clay, Paper Collage, Block Print, Comic Book or Flat Colour. A series keeps one style all the way through.
Their colours in the pictures
Switch on their favourite colours and each story’s pictures lean towards them.
Not keen on a page? Draw it again
Draw any page again from the player while the story keeps playing. Your child’s first drawing is free, and every redraw uses 1 story.
Pictures that suit their age
Simple, Storybook or Detailed, following their age until you choose.
16 colour sets
Choose the colours of each scene, from Earthy and Bright to Night sky and Pencil and ink. Your child always keeps their own skin, hair and clothes.
Every sound in its place
A jingle to begin and end, a tune to suit, and gentle sounds that land on the very word they belong to.
The BellaBye jingle
Light plucked strings, sparkly bells and soft drums open every story, then play again more softly at the end: a gentle goodnight.
A tune to suit
A short tune after the opening jingle, never under the voice. Let it suit the story, or choose happy, calm, mysterious, adventurous, silly or sleepy.
Sound effects on the right word
The owl hoots as the owl is named, and the door creaks as it opens. 41 gentle effects, never louder than the voice.
Background sounds
Soft sounds under the story, so a beach sounds like a beach: the sea, gentle rain, a crackling fire and more, blending from scene to scene.
Winding down at the end
Over the last quarter of the story, the voice slows a tiny step at a time, too gently to notice, to help them settle.
Made for the end of the day
Ready in minutes, with a player that keeps the room calm and dark.
Ready in minutes
Picture books are ready in about 4 minutes and listen-only stories in about 2. Watch the popcorn machine pop as each step finishes, then hear a little ready chime.
Read along, or just listen
The sentence being read glows and each word is underlined as it’s spoken. Turn the words off and the picture fills the screen.
The night player
Change the speed, set a sleep timer that fades out gently, and skip 15 seconds, from the lock screen or headphones too. Each child carries on where they left off.
Dim for a dark room
Turn the screen almost black, with just play, pause and the minutes left. Pictures are softened so they never glare.
Written for winding down
Listen-only stories have gentle detail and a voice that gets very gently slower in the last part, with one cover picture so the screen can stay dark.
On your phone, like an app
Add BellaBye to your home screen and it opens like an app. One quiet alert or an email when tonight’s story is ready, and calm Night colours from 7pm.
Yours to keep and share
Every story kept, ready to play again, print at home or send to Grandma.
Your Library
Every story kept, ready to play again, with favourites and folders for each child. Download any story as an MP3 to keep, free.
A picture book to print
Download any picture story as a book to print at home, free, with a “This book belongs to” page. Or print a booklet to fold, with pages to draw their favourite part.
Share with family
Send a story to Grandma with a private link. She can listen with no account, and you can stop sharing at any time.
Hear it in another voice
The same story read by someone else, like Grandad instead of Mum. The words and pictures stay the same, and it uses 1 story.
Stories, not credits
Each new story uses 1 of your plan’s stories, and the number left is always shown. Downloads and sharing are free, a story that stops never uses one, and your Library always plays.
Safe by design
Every voice given with permission, every story and picture checked, and everything private to your family.
Their permission
They read the permission and tick the box themselves before they record.
Grown-ups only
Everyone who records confirms they are 18 or over before their voice can be used.
Private to your family
Your family’s voices only ever read your family’s stories, and every recording is encrypted with a key unique to your family. There’s no public library and no public profile.
Theirs to delete
If they give us their email, we send them a link to listen to their voice or delete it at any time. You can delete it too.
Every story and picture checked
Each story is checked for your child’s age before it’s recorded, and each picture before they see it. Gentle peril only, and a warm ending every time.
Our own characters, never famous ones
Ask for a famous character and we make our own instead, and tell you: “You asked for a famous chocolate factory, so we made our own: a sweet factory.”
Only what we need
No photos, surnames or birthdays, and your child’s name never goes to the service that draws them. Ask for a copy of your data at any time.
An automatic grown-up voice check
An extra check, so only grown-up voices can be saved.
On the horizon
Nothing here is ready yet. These are the ideas we’re working towards after launch.
Story films
A story as a short film to download, its pictures gently moving with the family’s voice, ready to send to the grandparents.
Stories in other languages
Stories in other languages, for families who speak more than one at home.
Stories that play offline
Keep stories on your phone to play in BellaBye with no internet.
Printed books to your door
Their picture book, printed and delivered to your door.
Gift plans
Give a family Nightly for 3 or 12 months, as a gift code by email.
A story ready every night
An evening reminder, or a new story ready each day from your saved choices, and the next night of a series made for you.
Bella says hello
A short spoken welcome from Bella, BellaBye’s host, at the start of a story.
A second parent with full access
A second parent who can manage everything in the family account.