Yondr, Phone Locker or screenfree: Choosing a School Phone Pouch Supplier in Australia

If your school has settled on pouches, the shortlist usually writes itself: Yondr, Phone Locker and screenfree come up in almost every Australian procurement conversation. Full disclosure before we go any further: screenfree is us. We have written this comparison anyway, because most of what exists on this topic is written by suppliers quietly talking their own book. We would rather be upfront about where we sit and give you something you can actually verify.

The short version

All three companies sell a neoprene pouch that keeps students off their phones during the school day. The pouches look similar. The real differences sit underneath: how the phone is secured, how you pay, and who you deal with after the invoice is settled.

• Yondr is the global originator. Biggest brand, most schools, and a structured implementation program behind the pouch.

• Phone Locker is an Australian company with a patented pouch, sold outright, often through distributors.

• screenfree is an Australian founder-run supplier of lockable pouches with an optional signal-blocking lining, sold outright, with a pilot-first rollout model.

If you stop reading here: any of the three will give you a working pouch. The rest of this post is about which trade-offs matter for your school.

Yondr

Yondr invented this category in 2014 and now works with more than 2,000 school partners globally, including over 200 schools in Australia. The system is a magnetically locked pouch: students keep their phone on them all day, and staff unlock pouches at dismissal using base stations. What Yondr really sells is a program, not just a pouch. Admin training, policy templates, parent letters and implementation support all come as part of the package.

On pricing, be precise about which model you are quoted. Yondr's US school program is widely reported at around USD 25 to 30 per student per year. Its Australian government supplier listing, by contrast, describes an outright purchase model of around $22 per XL pouch and $120 per unlocking base, with no ongoing annual fees. Both models exist in the market, so get yours in writing, and ask what a second and third year cost once replacements and new cohorts are factored in.

One thing to verify carefully: signal blocking. Yondr's Australian supplier listing states that signal blocking is available. In our experience of the Australian school market, what schools are actually quoted and supplied is the standard lockable pouch, which secures the phone but leaves it connected. If a disconnected environment matters to your school, do not take a listing's word for it, ours included. Ask to see the signal-blocking product, get it in the quote by name, and test a sample against a live hotspot before you sign anything.

Where Yondr is strongest: scale, brand trust, and a proven rollout playbook. If your leadership team wants the safest-looking decision on paper, Yondr is it.

Phone Locker

Phone Locker is Australian-founded, with a patented pouch design and serious local procurement credentials, including approved-supplier status within NSW education purchasing. Pouches are bought outright, come with a one-year guarantee, and are sold both direct and through promotional product distributors.

Where Phone Locker is strongest: the Australian ownership story, competitive outright pricing, and established government supply channels. One thing to check if you buy through a distributor: who actually handles warranty claims and replacements after the sale, the distributor or Phone Locker directly. That is a fair question to put to any supplier, including us.

screenfree

screenfree is the one we can describe from the inside. We are a Melbourne-based, founder-run business supplying lockable phone pouches to schools across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE. Three things define how we work.

• Signal blocking is the specialism, not an accessory. A locked pouch takes the phone out of a student's hands. It does not stop that phone hotspotting a laptop from inside a bag. Our signal-blocking pouches use a Faraday lining designed to cut the connection entirely, for schools that want a genuinely disconnected environment rather than an out-of-sight one.

• You own the pouches. One-time purchase. No subscription, licence fee or annual program cost. A pouch bought for Year 7 this year is still yours when that cohort reaches Year 10.

• You deal with the founder. Quotes, rollout advice, custom branding, warranty claims and reorders all go through the same person. That is a real advantage at pilot stage and a real constraint at very large scale, and we would rather say both plainly.

Where we are honest about the gap: we are smaller than Yondr and Phone Locker. We do not yet have their brand footprint or government supplier listings. What we offer instead is product depth on signal blocking, direct service, and a low-commitment way in: sample packs and small pilots before any whole-school decision.

How to actually decide

Strip the branding away and the choice comes down to four questions.

• Access or connectivity? If out of sight is enough, any lockable pouch works. If hotspotting and smartwatch tethering are on your radar, you need genuine signal blocking, and in Australia that narrows the field quickly. It is our core product; make every other supplier demonstrate theirs before you count on it.

• Program or product? Yondr wraps the pouch in a managed program. Phone Locker and screenfree sell you the product and support you directly. Programs cost more and hand-hold more. Neither approach is wrong.

• Ongoing or one-off cost? Model three years, not one. An annual per-student cost and a one-time purchase look very different by year three.

• Who picks up the phone after the sale? Breakages happen in every rollout, whichever brand you choose. Know in advance whether warranty sits with the company, a distributor or nobody in particular.

Frequently asked questions

Does Yondr offer signal-blocking pouches in Australia?

Yondr's Australian government supplier listing says signal blocking is available. In our experience, schools in Australia are supplied Yondr's standard lockable pouch, which restricts access to the phone but does not block its signal. A phone inside can still receive messages, tether a laptop or sync a smartwatch. If signal blocking is a requirement, name it in your quote request, ask to test a sample against a live hotspot, and confirm exactly which product you are being sold. screenfree's signal-blocking pouches use a Faraday lining built for precisely this purpose.

Is Yondr a subscription in Australia?

It depends on the offer you receive. The US school program is widely reported as an annual per-student cost, while Yondr's Australian government supplier listing describes outright purchase with no ongoing fees. Ask for the pricing model in writing before you compare quotes.

What is the difference between a lockable and a signal-blocking pouch?

A lockable pouch removes access: the student cannot touch the phone. A signal-blocking pouch removes connectivity as well: the phone cannot receive notifications, tether a laptop or sync a smartwatch while sealed. In the Australian market, lockable pouches are what schools are typically quoted and supplied across the major brands. Genuine signal blocking is screenfree's core specialism, not an add-on.

Which supplier is cheapest?

Outright-purchase pouches from Australian suppliers generally cost less over three years than annual per-student programs. But the cheapest unit price is not the whole picture. Factor in replacement rates, who handles warranty, and whether you can pilot before committing.

Can we trial pouches before a full rollout?

Ask every supplier this question. At screenfree the standard path is a sample pack of pouches and an unlocking magnet, then a pilot of ten to fifty pouches with one cohort, then expansion at the school's own pace. Most schools that rush to whole-school rollouts on day one regret the skipped pilot, whichever brand they buy.

See it before you commit to anything

A sample pack takes two minutes to request: a standard lockable pouch, a signal-blocking pouch and an unlocking magnet, so your staff can test both models against your actual policy before spending real budget.

Working through a state-specific ban? See our guides for Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

screenfree supplies lockable phone pouches, with an optional signal-blocking lining, to schools across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE. One-time purchase, founder-direct service, no subscriptions.