knock The phone we recommend

Principles

Five principles, five operational examples each.

Brand values are worth nothing without something operational to point at. Below: five principles that shape how Knock works, each one tied to specific behaviours elsewhere on the site. Plus a short list of five specific things Knock will never do.

01

Plainness over polish

Every claim on Knock can be reduced to a real number, a primary source, or a thing we actually did. We don't use 'transformative' or 'leverage' or 'unlock'. We say what the phone weighs in grams and how many days the battery lasts.

How it shows up

  • Every statistic on the site links to its primary source (Ofcom, Parentkind, Ipsos, DfE).
  • Prices are shown with the actual number, never 'starting from'.
  • Reviews list specific weight, specific battery life in days, specific software details.

See it on the research page →

02

Patience over urgency

No countdown timers. No 'only 3 left'. No 'limited-edition'. The Knock Phone will be £79 tomorrow, next month and next year. The decision to delay your child's smartphone is not improved by panic.

How it shows up

  • No urgency widgets anywhere on the site.
  • Free 30-day returns on a low-cost product mean you can take the kit home and think.
  • The newsletter is fortnightly, never more often.

See it on the product page →

03

Specificity over generality

We name people, brands, schools, programmes, sources. The Ecclesfield S35 Unplugged pilot in Sheffield, with 75 pupils, named researchers, qualitative work, not 'a recent study'. Three of us in Sheffield, mid-thirties, working part-time, with forty UK families through the conversation since 2023, not 'we, a team'.

How it shows up

  • Every long-form note carries a Knock byline and a date.
  • Every cited research project names the institution and lead researcher.
  • The case studies use real first names, real child ages, real towns.

See it on the who's-behind-it page →

04

Listed sums over hidden ones

No surcharges at checkout. No 'colour upgrade'. The Knock Phone is £79 in any colour, with the SIM and the script included. After the first month, you top up directly with EE, we don't take a cut.

How it shows up

  • £79 is the price you see and the price you pay.
  • The SIM auto-renewal is from EE, not from us. We never auto-charge.
  • The pricing guide shows every cost in the basic-phone landscape, including imports and VAT.

See it on the pricing page →

05

Operational ethics over slogan ethics

'Honesty' isn't a value, it's what you can be sued for not having. We've written down five specific things we will never do. They are operational, not aspirational.

How it shows up

  • The 'Things we will never do' section below names five specific behaviours, not abstract values.
  • The /editorial-standards page is operational, not promotional.
  • The /policies page lists every commitment with a measurable threshold (24-hour reply, seven-working-day complaint resolution).

See it on the policies page →

Specifically

Five things Knock will never do.

  1. Recommend a phone the parents we work with wouldn't take seriously.
  2. Accept payment from a manufacturer in exchange for a change to a recommendation, a ranking, or a review.
  3. Use AI to invent a quote, a customer story, a parent testimonial, or a statistic.
  4. Use stock photography of children's faces in our marketing.
  5. Send a marketing email more often than once a fortnight.

A few questions about how this works.

Why publish values like this?

Because vague brand values are worthless. 'We believe in honesty' tells you nothing. 'We will never accept payment from a manufacturer to change a recommendation' tells you something you can check us against. The five values above are tied to specific operational commitments shown elsewhere on the site.

What's the difference between values and policies?

Values are the principles. Policies are the procedures. The values on this page describe how Knock thinks. The /policies page describes what Knock does when something goes wrong. Both are public.

Will these values change?

The values themselves shouldn't. The operational examples will, as Knock grows. We'll review this page annually and update the examples with the latest specifics.